The chair of the General Dental Council, Alison Lockyer, has resigned. The statements on the websites are more pertinent by virtue of what they do not say. There are rumours doing the rounds and Dental Protection has also issued a statement voicing concern at the situation which appears on the GDC website.
There is something seriously wrong at the GDC. Let us look at its recent history. It has had a number of interim chief executive officers and the turnover has been too high for any organisation. There has been criticism by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence on fitness for purpose. There have been resignations of 33 per cent of the investigating committee chairmen according to the statement on the GDP UK website. All of these point to a crisis in any organisation and the profession, who are paying the price for this through ever increasing registration fees, have a right to know the truth behind what has happened.
The GDC has been in decline for many years. It is a long time since it truly had the confidence of the dental profession. More recently it appears to have treated the need for such confidence with absolute contempt. In theory the profession has self regulation but in reality it hasn't had it since the size of the GDC was greatly reduced and the profession lost the right to elect representatives to its' own regulatory body. Instead we now have a quango that serves no one but itself. Rumours suggest major differences between the executive and the profession and whilst we do not know the details, we must respect Alison Lockyer for having the courage to jump ship.
It may be that she was too close to the profession for the comfort of those who are now the appointed regulators. She probably has a better understanding of what truly happens in practice than many of the executive will ever have.
Does the dental profession need a GDC? The mandate that it has is to protect the public yet what proof is there that it does so with any effectiveness? Running an ever-increasing number of disciplinary committees is not proof. Perhaps now is the time for the GDC to abandon its pretence of a self-regulated profession. It is a quango which serves the needs of its masters whilst charging dentists too much for the privilege. The educational duties could be passed to the colleges and dental schools which understand what they are doing. The fitness to practise procedures should be given to an independent body working to the rules of natural justice rather than the chaos we currently have.
The former chair, Alison Lockyer, needs to tell the profession what went on behind closed doors. It is clear from the press statements that there is a story to tell. As for the future of the GDC, sadly that is not up to the profession even if it pays for it. We await the facts with interest!
Jenny DyerEditor, The Dentist