The DDU made the comments in response to a Department of Health consultation on the funding of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), the body which oversees the health professions regulators.* The PSA reviews decisions made by fitness to practise panels and can refer them to court if they feel they are unduly lenient and do not protect the public.
At the moment the PSA (formerly known as the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence or CHRE) is government funded, but the proposal is for it to be funded from a compulsory levy placed on the healthcare regulatory bodies it oversees. The DDU is concerned that this would drive up the annual registration fees paid by dental professionals, doctors and nurses to their regulators, which would be an unfair burden in the current economic climate.
Rupert Hoppenbrouwers, head of the DDU, said "We think the Department of Health should reconsider the proposal that the PSA will be self-funding because dental and other healthcare professionals will end up paying for it via their annual registration fees (ARF). We believe it would be possible to provide the same degree of patient protection without the need for the PSA. For example, it would be more cost-effective to provide the healthcare regulators with powers to appeal decisions taken by fitness to practise panels. The General Medical Council is soon to be given this power and so could the other healthcare regulators.
"This proposal, if enacted, would be a particularly hard blow for dental professionals who are already facing a dramatic increase in the ARF. In the current economic climate, we think it is unfair to expect dental professionals to potentially pay an additional amount towards the funding of the PSA, especially since they have no means of holding it accountable."