Neil Carmichael, The Association of Dental Groups’ (ADG) Exec Chair participated in the 10 Year Workforce Plan session hosted today by the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) for partners. As the trade body representing the whole dental workforce across the ‘mixed economy’ of NHS, Private and Community-based services, this provided the ADG with the opportunity to emphasise the Association’s conviction that putting in place a sustainable workforce model is critical to the new plan’s success.
Neil Carmichael, Executive Chair, Association of Dental Groups said:
“The gap in the dental workforce is huge. With over 2,700 dentist vacancies and gaps in the wider workforce, we are short of over 5,000 dental professionals across the NHS and Private sectors. Coupled with the fact that only 0.8% of dentists are actively looking for work, and just 1.5% of DCPs are seeking employment, we don’t have a UK workforce lining up to take these jobs on.
“I was glad to have this opportunity today to work with stakeholders at the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan partners event, since it allowed the ADG to reiterate that for the 10-year NHS Workforce Plan to succeed, agencies within the healthcare system must also play their part, with the General Dental Council (GDC) being a key example.
“Today I mentioned to Wes Streeting that the GDC was last reformed in 1984, when Maggie was in power – and yet whilst dentistry has changed almost beyond recognition since then, the GDC has not. We have to prioritise modernisation of the GDC. It must do so, either by itself or it must be modernised through legislation. The ADG believes that the GDC could become a proactive and useful regulator of dentistry, but without reform access to dentistry by patients will continue to be a serious problem
“I also mentioned to Wes Streeting that in July in a televised Health & Social Care Select Committee, Stephen Kinnock, Minister of State for Health and Social Care announced that he had requested a plan from the GDC to sort out the Overseas Registration Examination bottleneck by October. We are now in November – and it is late. We know there are thousands of trained international dentists who are queuing up to take the exam which would immediately improve patient access. I want to reiterate that patients must be our focus. We must see the GDC’s plan which will hopefully give clarity to the sector and to the legions of patients waiting for access to a dentist.”
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For further information contact: ADG Director of Communications & Membership
Kate Clark | kate@kateclarkpr.co.uk | kate.clark@theadg.co.uk | 07990 525639