Justice Cranston, who was ruling on the judicial review of the GDC’s ARF increase, must have looked to many as if he would be the dental profession’s Santa Claus last year. Up and down the country dentists kept an eye on social media waiting expectantly… “has he been yet?” On December 18, one week before Christmas, the waiting was finally over. But like a child unwrapping a broken toy the dental profession could be forgiven for being more than a little disappointed…
The result was that the judicial review was a success for the claimant; the judge ruled that the annual retention fee consultation was unlawful. However at the same it time was a defeat – the fee increase stands. So who won? Were the ‘bad’ kids rewarded? The BDA and GDC both released statements on the ruling (we have both in full on page 8 and will follow up with further reaction and analysis in next month’s issue). As is their prerogative both sides focus on the positives for their respective positions, but in terms of overall victory the ruling gave none. The ARF will increase, so the BDA failed in its objective, and the GDC failed to defend the lawfulness of the consultation process – so rather than being about victory it is perhaps better to look on the whole affair as one of all round defeat.
So 2014 ended badly for UK dentists. Bitterness towards the regulator will perhaps be entrenched by the events in December, but yet there are perhaps some reasons to be optimistic 2015 will be better (If the USA and Cuba can restore diplomatic relations UK dentistry will be a piece of cake!). The ARF increase was highly contentious and roused
feeling, but the important work of improving the regulation of dentistry had to take place regardless of the outcome. Following the PSA report the GDC accepted that changes need to be made, and it is important the unity created by the
ARF discussion continues to ensure the money gained is put to good use in ensuring effective and fair regulation of the
profession – surely that was the ultimate goal for all parties anyway?
Whilst the judicial review was obviously an important event in dentistry last month, there are plenty of other issues practice principals and managers will need to be aware of. On page 22 Christopher Dean discusses the problem of
vicarious liability whilst on page 28 Chris Davies explains how to protect patients from data theft, then page 56 sees the start of our feature on practice refurbishments. As always throughout this year The Dentist will provide you with articles that are relevant to your practice, with content that can have a positive impact on your business. If there are any topics you would like covered, or if you have any comments about the journal please do let me know, simply email emackenzie@georgewarman.co.uk