GDC TO ANNOUNCE NEW PLANS TO DELIVER A MORE CONSISTENT APPROACH TO COMPLAINTS HANDLING
suggested just 61 % of care homes in the West Midlands carry out oral health assessments on admission and 77 % of care homes in the North West include oral health in the overall care plan .
Professor Elizabeth Kay MBE , foundation dean of Peninsula Dental School , Plymouth University , professor and consultant in dental public health and specialist committee member , said “ Looking after someone ’ s mouth should be as much a part of the care expected as ensuring their personal hygiene and providing adequate clean clothing . Helping care home residents with this basic daily routine maintains not only their oral health but , just as importantly , enhances their dignity and self-esteem .”
COLLABORATION WITH CHINA Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry has signed a collaboration agreement with the Shen Yang Hospital of Stomatology – the fourth Chinese institution with which it has forged a collaboration in the past year . Shen Yang Hospital of Stomatology is an independent faculty of the School of Stomatology , Dallan University , China . It is also the teaching hospital of Liao Ning Medical College and has five departments : prosthetics , orthodontics , endodontics , maxillofacial surgery and public health dentistry .
It has 249 clinical and teaching personnel , 67 of whom are chief clinicians or professors . The hospital cares for the dental needs of Shen Yang city , which is the sixth largest city in China with a population in excess of six million .
The arrangement with Shen Yang Hospital of Stomatology will join similar collaborations that Plymouth University Peninsula School of Dentistry has implemented with the School of Stomatology at Capital Medical University ( whose directors visited Plymouth in 2015 and which is sending its first masters student to Plymouth this March ); the School of Stomatology , Shandong University , and ; the Second Hospital ( School of Clinical Medicine ), also Shandong University .
DENTAL CARE IN TAMIL NADU Two dental students from Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry are to join the Schoolhouse Dental Camp in Tamil Nadu this summer , where they will be part of a group offering dental care to children in that region .
Ashly Punnoose and Kowoon Noh are third-year dental students . They will join other dental students at the camp which is based at the Mission Hospital . They will carry out screening and treatments in villages , schools and children ’ s homes . Children who need a tooth extracted will be treated by the students under the supervision of local dental professionals at the hospital ’ s dental clinic . Ashly and Kowoon are currently raising the funds they need for the trip , and as part of that they are crowdfunding the costs . Via their Crowdfunder web page , members of the public can pledge money in return for specified rewards .
Said the pair : “ This is our chance to really make a difference to children ’ s oral health in an impoverished part of the world . Without the Schoolhouse Dental Camp , children in Tamil Nadu would get no dental care at all . We really hope that people will help us raise the amount we need to get to Tamil Nadu and make our contribution towards better children ’ s oral health in the region .”
GDC TO ANNOUNCE NEW PLANS TO DELIVER A MORE CONSISTENT APPROACH TO COMPLAINTS HANDLING
� As part of its initiatives to improve the current system of regulation for patients and dental professionals , the General Dental Council ( GDC ) wants a consistent approach in the handling of complaints so that issues are dealt with by the right organisation . Shifting the balance : a better , fairer system of dental regulation was announced on 26th January that will give further detail about how the regulator wants to see the current complaints system strengthened so that issues raised by patients are dealt with appropriately – normally in the first instance by the dental practice .
The GDC still receives a significant number of complaints that are unrelated to a dental professional ’ s clinical ability and which are not investigated as part of the Fitness to Practise process . These are often complaints that could or should be resolved between the patient and the practice where the care takes place . Consequently the GDC wants to work with the profession to remove the barriers that are currently preventing patients from complaining to the dental practice .
Bill Moyes , Chair of the General Dental Council , said : “ Even with an increased focus on prevention , sometimes things will go wrong and a patient will wish to make a complaint . Patients find it difficult to navigate the current system , so more needs to be done to make it easier for patients to complain , making sure the complaint goes to the most appropriate organisation . There are clear benefits for patients and professionals in a system which enables early , quick and low-cost resolution of complaints and disputes .
“ We know good practice exists , so we want to work with the profession to maximise the potential of complaints being handled between the dental professional and the patient , so there is a
consistent approach across the four nations . The success of our plans are dependent upon working with others . We simply cannot bring about change without the support of the profession and our partners .”
As part of a commitment to work better with partners to improve the regulation of dentistry in the UK , the GDC also wants to strengthen its relationships with systems regulators and the NHS in the four nations , as well as professional associations , indemnity providers and employers , including corporate providers of dental services . The plans cite the work of the Regulation of Dental Services Programme Board as good partnership working . The Board was established to address gaps and overlaps in regulation and for information to be shared more quickly between partners .
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