In February 2015 I wrote a series of blogs about an experience I had through a GDC investigation and you can read the blogs here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Read the case here
It would be wrong of me never to return to this, wrong of me to never reference it again and wrong of me not to talk about it because it provoked countless conversations at meetings, lectures, bars and in the practice. I would not want anyone to think I have lain idle since the blogs were published or have retreated back under my stone to try and hide away from the issues the blog raised of that the case raised with me personally.
I have been working in the background, talking to various people and have had the privilege of having access to people at a very high level in dentistry to discuss, not any problem with the GDC, but a solution to the situation we have in regulation at the present time.
I think it is safe to say that everybody involved in this process feels there are problems and inefficiencies, be it with the statutory framework or with the way compliance is currently dealt with and enforced throughout healthcare in the UK, not just in dentistry. It does seem that there are solutions which could come to pass, maybe they will need a change in legislation, maybe they will need a change in attitude from parties involved in healthcare and also involved in compliance. First, in all of these cases, it would be important to look inwards then outwards.
I have had long conversations with people in dentistry about this. Many people are terrified of compliance and many people feel they are just waiting to have their shoulder collared. Very few people are keen to stand up to suggest an alternative or to show what’s wrong, both from the dental point of view and the compliance point of view.
Well here is a point for discussion as we go forwards and I will try to provide updated regularly as things progress.
As far as dentists are concerned, it is clear that they haven’t lost enough to care enough of what is happening in compliance. When this reaches a tipping point and dentists feel like their rights have been eroded, their jobs are untenable, their incomes have plummeted and their lives are truly miserable then they will have lost enough to stand up as a group together, to challenge the inefficiencies and the downright unfairness of some aspects of compliance.
We must first look to ourselves. If we’re not prepared to stand together as a unit to all speak up in a reasonable and rational voice to make suggestions for a better system, but also to police ourselves instead of sticking our heads in the sand and allowing other people who practice unethically to ‘get away with it’. I am fed up of discussions at the bar from people who tell me that dentistry is doing nothing about it and when I ask what they are doing about it they say “nothing” or that they have joined the BDA. Don’t just join the BDA, stand for office. Go to the LDC, engage with your colleagues, attend the BDA meetings, discuss the issues, offer solutions. It is the only way that this will work. If we try to act in isolation from here on in we will just be scattered and segregated.
I love being a dentist and I love the profession. I feel proud that I have been allowed to practice and want to continue to practice for years to come but I want to practice within a profession with integrity and ethics, who look after each other but who similarly don’t tolerate members of the tribe who practice in a way which brings us into disrepute.
On the pages of this blog going forwards we will start the process of offering solutions in conjunction with other people who are much higher ranking in dentistry than me. I hope you’ll join in the discussion and I hope we can get together as a group further down the line and offer reasonable and rational dialogue towards a better future for dentistry.