GDC PUTS PATIENTS FIRST REGULATION THAT
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND REGISTRAR OF THE GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL OUTLINES SOME KEY CHANGES TAKING PLACE
EVLYNNE GILVARRY T
here are significant changes taking place in the dental care landscape. I am sure you all see this through your interactions with patients and colleagues. I wanted to
set out how the GDC is evolving so that we may meet these changes together. At the heart of this is ensuring patients have access to safe treatments performed by well-trained professionals. Te GDC’s role in dealing with
complaints about dental care is a key element of our approach to effective regulation. A major surge in the number of complaints over the last four years – up 115 per cent since 2011 – strained resources and exposed the need for improvement. We have risen to this challenge,
implementing a major change programme that is already delivering real improvements and have invested substantially to clear the backlog of cases that had built up in recent years. We have completely overhauled our training and performance management of staff, and upgraded our IT systems. Our most recent data shows
progress in all stages of the process. We invested £620,000 in 2014
to provide two additional casework teams to clear a backlog of 750 FtP cases through the investigation
SCO TTISH DENT AL Evlynne Gilvarry
stage. At the end of 2014, this work was practically complete; most of the cases had completed the investigation stage and the small number remaining will have been dealt with by August 2015. At the end of June 2015, 83
cases were in the initial triage stage of our FTP process and 54 of these were being progressed within our 10-day key performance indicator (KPI). Tis compares with 340 cases in the first three months of 2014, of which only 56 cases were within our KPI. Our triage team are closing approximately 30 per cent of the new complaints received.
18 At the beginning of October
2014, the average number of assessments completed each month by our Casework managers was 45 assessments per month per team. At the end of June 2015 this number had increased to 57 assessments per team per month. Te number of teams had reduced from six to four as part of a rationalisation of resources. We have increased the number
of Investigating Committee and Practice Committee meetings to handle the increase in investigations and prosecutions. At the end of Q2 2015, our
data showed that the Investigating Committee had witnessed its most productive period in the last three years, with 84 per cent of listed cases securing an outcome. In 2014, we heard 194 initial Conduct Committee meetings compared to 133 in 2013. We have so far heard 138 Conduct cases in 2015 and made arrangements to hear a further 159 hearings in 2015; an increase of 53 per cent. We have implemented new induction, training, quality assurance and performance management to reinforce to staff at all levels the importance of meeting the standards required by the PSA in relation to timeliness, accuracy,
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