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A year ago, in my Comment entitled ‘Absent’,1 I wrote a sad and sorry tale of how the General Dental Council (GDC) had spent registrant's cash on booking a stand at the British Dental Association (BDA) Annual Conference in Manchester, and how the Chairman of Council and the Chief Executive were ‘absent’. In other words, they did not attend Manchester to man the stand, thereby missing a wonderful opportunity to interact with their public, the dentists of the UK. I took a photograph of the stand (used in ‘Absent’) and, for my trouble, I received a letter advising me that I had been threatening to the staff on the stand by taking the photograph!
I am therefore pleased to report a sea-change insofar as, while the GDC again had a stand at the BDA Conference, I was delighted to find it populated, among others, by the newly appointed permanent Chief Executive and Registrar, Mr Ian Brack, who I was delighted to meet. Although in my two days at the Conference I did not notice the Chairman of Council at the meeting (but I might be wrong as I was not there 24/7), the Chief Executive was present for the duration and actually appeared to enjoy speaking with his public. This is exactly what was needed – a potentially acceptable and friendly face of the GDC being accessible, as opposed to high-handed methods which have been employed with registrants in the recent past. There was also a chance for the new Chief Executive to meet all the top people from the Protection Societies/Associations who were represented at the meeting, notwithstanding the BDA hierarchy. In addition, a high proportion of the conference delegates were young dentists in their FD1 year, who hopefully will have spoken to Mr Brack regarding the worries that some have expressed regarding their futures.
The GDC will not make right all the wrongs of the past and put right the adverse, badly-handled publicity which has befallen it in recent times. This seemingly is continuing, with evidence recently from a registrant who is under investigation regarding the serving of champagne in her practice, this having been generated from information on the practice website. While this may be unusual practice, I recall one famous prosthodontist who has advised audiences around the world for decades that, on fitting a patient's new (complete) dentures, they would both enjoy a glass of champers together, to check for phonation and comfort!
Of course, along with improving the GDC's image to the profession that it regulates, there are other important issues on the Chief Executive's desk. The views of the overarching body, the Professional Standards Authority, being one, the fallout from the whistleblowing incident of 2014 being another, while there is still a need to work out how to reduce the annual retention fee (ARF) to a level that registrants feel is a necessary evil but not in excess of what might be considered reasonable. The high ARF has unquestionably been due to large numbers of inappropriate referrals to 'Fitness to Practice' hearings (the average cost of these being circa £90k), but the word on the street is that a degree of sense is forthcoming, alongside the reforms that have been implemented.
I still recall visiting the GDC as a final year dental student, and feeling some trepidation as I entered the building. However, I remember thinking then that this was an organization which was respected by the profession, in contrast to the fear and distrust of the recent past. While the presence of The Chief Executive at one conference will not erase these memories, we should take this as a positive sign that the culture of the organization might be changing in a positive way.