Q&A
Secondly, information on how to complain is more readily accessible. T e internet plays a major role in this and we are seeing an increasing number of complaints being submitted online. We are also seeing a greater proportion of complaints coming from sources other than directly from patients – for example, from the NHS and other professionals. T irdly there is evidence that the major structural change that
resulted in transition from PCTs to NHS England leſt some areas of the country with many fewer performance managers. As a result, we believe that some cases which might have been dealt with in the past through local resolution are now fi nding their way to us. Lastly, we are told by the defence organisations that a recent
change in the way lawyers are rewarded for handling claims against health professionals prompted a surge of referrals to the health regulators.
“The GDC, in common with other
regulators, is experiencing the eff ects of a more informed and demanding public.”
A recent advert in the Daily Telegraph for the Dental Complaints Service was likened by the BDA to those favoured by “ambulance-chasing lawyers”. What was the intention behind the advert?
T e comparison with “ambulance-chasing lawyers” is mistaken and unfortunate. We have a duty as a regulator to ensure patients and the public, including those who receive private dental care, know where they can raise concerns if necessary. Promotion of the DCS is not a new development; we regularly run campaigns to ensure that the public and patients, as well as dental professionals and other advice bodies such as Trading Standards and Citizens Advice, are aware of the excellent service it off ers. At the heart of the DCS is the encouragement of local resolution and this happens in a large proportion of the cases it handles. T e DCS consistently achieves very high satisfaction ratings with patients and with dental
professionals. It is important to note that the DCS does not handle fi tness to practise cases. Some of the commentary in the wake of the advertisement clearly showed confusion on this point.
The BDA has reported that in a recent survey 79 per cent of dentists were not confi dent the GDC was regulating dentists eff ectively. Do you feel the GDC has lost the trust of the profession and how will you win back the doubters?
We are determined to ensure that our performance as a regulator continues to improve. We have struggled to cope with unusually large increases in caseload in three successive years and we recognise that this resulted in our performance slipping. T e measures we are taking – which include signifi cant extra investment which must be funded by the dental profession – are precisely
AUTUMN 2014 11
aimed at being an eff ective regulator. We hope that the profession will acknowledge the need for this extra investment, even though it means a signifi cant increase in their annual registration fees. T e debate that has taken place since we began the consultation
on the ARF increase is an opportunity to clear up some misapprehensions about the GDC’s role. Some of the commentary seemed to confuse our role with that of the BDA. We are keen to have a more active engagement with the profession on regulatory issues as we believe that this is the best way of building and maintaining trust. It’s worth noting that the GDC’s 2013 registrant survey found
that confi dence in the GDC as a regulator remains high. More than two thirds (67 per cent) of the dental professionals who took part in the survey are confi dent that the GDC is regulating dentistry eff ectively. A corresponding survey of patients and the public said regulation of dental professionals is very important and nearly eight out of 10 (77 per cent) are confi dent that the GDC regulates dental professionals eff ectively.
n Interview by Jim Killgore, editor of Summons
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