GDC chair receives frosty reception

LDCs conference not impressed with response to complaints grilling

31 May, 2016 / infocus
 

GDC chairman Bill Moyes was “laughed out of the room” when he made an appearance at the recent Scottish Conference of LDCs in Stirling.

During his presentation he claimed that he didn’t know why complaints had risen by more than 110 per cent since 2010 and, despite spending thousands of pounds of registrants’ funds on the infamous advert in the Telegraph, he claimed it was in no way responsible for the rise in complaints.

Mr Moyes was asked why he had refused to meet with the SDPC, despite repeated invitations, to which he replied that he would meet them “when they had something serious to contribute”.

One delegate also asked him why he hadn’t resigned; he replied by saying that he was “part of the solution, not part of the problem” and reiterated that he would not resign.

Scottish Dental magazine columnist Arthur Dent, who was at the conference, said: “To be honest Bill Moyes was all but laughed out of the room. Literally. I can’t say we all acted terribly professionally, but in our defence we were sorely provoked.”

And another delegate from North Lanarkshire said: “Grudgingly, I have to take my hat off to him for actually turning up as many of us didn’t think he would.”

In her pre-conference speech, conference chair Jacqueline Frederick, took a moment to comment on the appearance of the GDC chair the following day by saying: “Our relationship with our regulator has probably never been worse.”

She said the profession in Scotland was “irritated at the level of GDC fees we pay”, that there was a sense
of unfairness at “the shoehorning in of regulation of DCPs” when other healthcare groups have separate regulators for complementary groups, and she expressed “disbelief that our regulator was advertising for complaints”.

These issues, however, “pale into insignificance compared to the stress, of a lengthy GDC investigation”.

The Greenock GDP argued that “stress is maybe not the right word for our problems. Delving deeper, it would seem that, in our situation, fear and anxiety fit the bill better”.

LDC conference debates the issues

Unannounced inspections and the recent DenPro launch were among the subjects debated and voted on at the recent Scottish Conference of LDCs recently.

Lothian LDC proposed a motion on the Scottish Government’s “failure to consult fully with the profession” over unannounced visits and called for ministers to “engage fully with SDPC when considering issues of similar importance and in doing so, allow all parties adequate time for proper consideration of the matter”. The motion was passed by majority.

On the launch of the DenPro procurement scheme, Kenneth McDonald, from Greater Glasgow and Clyde LDC, called for assurances from the Scottish Government that “it will not use evidence of perceived cost savings facilitated by DenPro as a negotiating tool to reduce funding in matters relating to the delivery and remuneration of dental services by non-salaried general dental practitioners”. This was passed unanimously.

Other motions passed included motions condemning the increase in waiting time for prior approval and a motion stating that the SDR is unfit for purpose and a review is needed.

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