The council is looking to improve flexibility and availability to the ORE for dentists who qualified overseas and want to work as a dentist in the UK.
The GDC is inviting potential suppliers to tender for the provision of the ORE from next year. The invitation to tender formally opened on May 1, 2024. The tender process follows quickly from the regulator’s early market engagement, which was carried out from February to early April.
The regulator is looking for two new contracts for the ORE Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 is a computer-based assessment of knowledge, and Part 2 is a practical test of clinical skills. Candidates are expected to demonstrate the learning outcomes of a UK-qualified dentist.
The ORE is for internationally qualified dentists whose qualifications are not recognised for the purposes of UK registration.
This will be the first procurement for the ORE since legislative changes removed financial and supplier constraints, which have limited the capacity improvements that the GDC has been able to deliver over the last 12 months.
Public safety and confidence are the GDC’s utmost considerations as it works with suppliers to improve access and capacity while ensuring that the ORE remains a robust assessment of skills and knowledge and fees do not become a barrier to access.
The GDC is working to ensure contracts are in place for 2025 sittings.
Theresa Thorp, executive director of regulation, said, “We are very pleased to have launched the tender process for ORE provision. We are moving at pace so more dentists from overseas can come and work in the UK. We want to work with our suppliers to deliver improvements to capacity while maintaining patient safety and public confidence in the dental profession as our top priority.”