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Are we really that bad?

March 29, 2011 by Ian Kerr

Here is an interesting statistic provided by Dental Protection “On a purely statistical level UK dentists are at least twice as likely as their colleagues int eh USA and Australia (for example) to find themselves under some kind of challenge from their professional regulator, and they are several times more likely to do so than their colleagues in Europe”

This is a real concern to the profession and should be a concern to our patients, not because we are so bad but because the cost of regulation and scrutiny is increasing at an unparalleled and currently uncontrolled rate. The introduction of the CQC has more than doubled the cost faced by dentists this year and the wording from this organisation seems to imply that they are softening us up with a lower fee for the first year, with much worse to come.

The number of cases in the “Fitness to Practice” scheme run by the General Dental Council is higher than for any other country in the world and the number of days spent on formal hearings is now at a level that exists nowhere else in the world. The decision to forward a complaint from a patient on to an Investigating Committee is now made much more commonly, in part because of the very wide drafting and high level guidance provided by the GDC itself.  Investigating Committees will have only one dentist (or dental care professional) and four other lay members, the chairman is always a lay person. They are currently faced with 25-30 cases a day giving them 15-20 minutes per case to decide the fate of the dental registrant. Given the enormous impact that these decisions can have on an individuals life – loss of the business, right to work, increased home stress etc one would have hoped for a more even handed approach. Are we really to believe that UK dentists are the worst in the world and therefore need more cases than the rest of the world or are we just being crushed by needless red tape and heavy handed bureaucracy?

The situation we are now facing in the UK with spiraling costs for regulation and scrutiny coupled with the inevitable rise in indemnity fees to pay for our protection from litigation cannot be seen as a good thing for patients. Ian Kerr’s Law of Unforeseen Consequences states that “legislation designed to protect innocent parties will inevitably lead to creating an equal level of harm to them in return“.  Ultimately patients pay for these increasing costs through taxes and dental fees. There is no reason to believe that an exponential increase in costs will be matched with an exponential increase in protection from harm.

Filed Under: Blog

About Ian Kerr

Dr Ian Kerr BDS qualified in 1989 from Newcastle University Dental School and has worked ever since in both private practice and hospital settings. Following a short stint in a busy general practice in the North East Dr Kerr went to live and work in Trinidad, where he learnt a wide range of surgical skills and developed an interest in the treatment of tempero-mandibular joint dysfunction (TMD). On returning to the UK in 1994 Dr Kerr worked in a prestigious private practice in Bromley in Kent. During his time there he completed extensive post graduate training in advanced restorative techniques and further advanced his interest in TMD.

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About StoneRock Dental Care

StoneRock Dental Care is a stunning dental practice in Hawkhurst, Nr Cranbrook on the Kent and East Sussex border. We provide every level of care, from routine family dental visits to complete cosmetic dental makeovers, including dental implants, teeth whitening, veneers, bridges and other cosmetic dental and facial aesthetic techniques.

We know how hard it can be to choose a dentist and we know how tough it can be to decide what treatment is right for you, therefore we put your comfort and your well being at the heart of every treatment that we provide.

You can contact us on 01580 752202 or info@stonerock.co.uk

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