The new council members take up their posts on October 1. They are:
- Anne Heal, lay member, appointed for a four-year term
- Crispin Passmore, lay member, appointed for a three-year term
- Caroline Logan, registrant member (dental technician), appointed for a three-year term
- Jeyanthi John, registrant member (dentist), appointed for a four-year term
- Sheila Kumar, lay member, appointed for a three-year term
- Terry Babbs, lay member, appointed for a four-year term
The new council members bring skills and experience from other regulators and sectors, as well as healthcare and dentistry.
Margaret Kellett and Catherine Brady, both dentist registrant members, have both been appointed for a second term of office; Margaret for a three and Catherine for a four-year term.
The new members join the GDC Council at a pivotal time for the organisation. It is pressing ahead with the vision set out in Shifting the balance: a better, fairer system of dental regulation, which was published in January. This will see a greater focus on enforcement to prevention within the model of dental regulation, ensuring effort is focused ‘upstream’. This will deliver better outcomes for patients and result in a fairer, more proportionate system of regulation.
This vision allows the council to build on the substantial work that has already been done across the GDC to improve its systems and processes, enabling it to be more outward facing, building collaborative networks with patients, dental professionals and its wider partners. As a result, the GDC will be better able to achieve its objectives of patient protection and public confidence in dental services.
William Moyes, chair of the GDC, said, “The field of applicants was very strong and I would like to thank those that took the time to apply. It was not an easy choice, but I am confident that the right mix of skills and experience has been appointed to oversee the work of the GDC as we face new challenges ahead.
“The future of dental regulation is dependent upon the GDC, dental professionals, patients, and our other partners engaging more effectively and supporting and encouraging new ways of dealing with issues and concerns that arise in dentistry. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the council and executive to achieve our vision of a model of dental regulation that is rebalanced towards stronger promotion of standards and less reliance on enforcement.”
The GDC also wants to extend thanks to the outgoing council members – Alan MacDonald, David Smith, Jayendra Patel, Neil Stevenson and Rosemary Carter – for their valuable contribution to the GDC during this time of improvement and change.