Revalidation plans disproportionate says BDA

GDC plans for the revalidation of dentists are onerous, bureaucratic and disproportionate according to the British Dental Association.

This is the verdict expressed today by the BDA in its response to the GDC consultation on revalidation. The BDA said that the proposals would be likely to increase paperwork, reduce the number of patients seen and add another layer of regulation. The response argues that the plans are also out of step with the GDC’s repeatedly-expressed intention to develop a system which is proportionate.

Furthermore, it says that the evidence base for the proposals is unsound and that pilots for the proposals carried out in 2009 failed to cover a representative number of practitioners. It also calls for the proposals to be subjected to a full cost-benefit analysis.

Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair of the BDA’s Executive Board, said:

"It is important that standards for professional revalidation in dentistry are transparent, consistent, and proportionate, and offer reassurance to patients. The BDA supports measures that meet those criteria. We also agree with the view expressed by the Working Group on Non-Medical Revalidation that the intensity and frequency of revalidation must be proportionate to the risks inherent in the work a practitioner is involved in.

"The BDA supports the work of the GDC as the regulator of dentistry in the UK, but we have some serious concerns about the proposals put forward in this consultation and the wider context in which they have been presented. The circumstances confronting dentistry have changed since these proposals were initially mooted and it would be sensible to look at them again to assess the cost of changes and the benefits they might deliver. We would welcome the opportunity to input into that process."