DT News - UK - Dental care professionals to be affected by CPD changes

Dental Tribune UK

Mon. 30 July 2018

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LONDON, UK: At the start of 2018, all UK-based dentists were required to adopt the new approach to continuing professional development (CPD) outlined by the General Dental Council (GDC). From 1 August, this will apply to all dental care professionals in the country. The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS) has issued a reminder of the changes to the CPD cycle.

Under the new enhanced CPD scheme, all dental professionals are required to complete a personal development plan and to spread verifiable hours more evenly across the five-year cycle. Over this period, dental nurses and technicians will need to complete a minimum of 50 hours of CPD, while dental therapists and hygienists, orthodontic therapists, and clinical dental technicians will have to undertake at least 75 hours of CPD.

In addition, dental professionals will be required to keep a formal log of their CPD, which, among other stipulations, must indicate which of the four formal GDC learning outcomes (communication, management, knowledge and skills) it relates to.

“Dental care professionals should be aware of these important and significant changes in dental regulation,” said MDDUS dental adviser Dr Stephen Henderson. “We welcome this move as the first step in a long-term reform programme that aims to focus on the quality of CPD rather than quantity. This will help identify and keep relevant skills up to date and therefore help improve patient safety.”

Dental care professionals must also ensure they have declared their indemnity and paid their annual retention fee by the end of July. Regarding this, Henderson added: “The GDC warns that late payment or not declaring indemnity will result in removal from the register and having to cease working as a dental care professional.”

“Any dental care professionals who are not registered with their regulatory body for whatever reason cannot carry out duties associated with their role. This could cause major disruptions to a practice with patient appointments being cancelled and principals may be forced to find temporary cover. MDDUS would advise all practices to check that everyone within the team is fully registered ahead of the deadline,” Henderson said.

“Practices are advised to have a system in place to check that staff subscriptions with bodies such as the GDC and defence organisations are renewed on time,” he concluded.

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