Response to Lecture

The BDA believe that the content of the speech is significant and that it may herald the intention of the General Dental Council (GDC) to substantially broaden its areas of interest and operation.  Such a move has the potential to distract from the real work of the GDC and to duplicate the activities of other bodies properly charged with those responsibilities. It could also add unnecessary layers of bureaucracy on to already hard-pressed practitioners.  Dental registrants are encouraged to read the transcript to form their own view.

The GDC’s difficulties in delivering on its current workload have been well-documented.  Adding to that workload is only likely to exacerbate those difficulties. The GDC’s real priority should be to address how it manages its core function of protecting patients before extending into areas that are not its responsibility.

Both the GDC’s present activity and any additional roles it may wish to undertake are funded entirely by the fees it receives from registrants.  This includes administering the CPD scheme which is under review with changes to be announced in the near future. As we have said before, these changes should not result in any further escalation of registrants’ fees.