[rank_math_breadcrumb]

What lies ahead…?

The future....

The impact of Covid-19 over the past three months has lead to unprecedented disruption to the dental profession worldwide. In Scotland, this global crisis coupled with years of government underfunding and limited legal representation has brought the profession close to breaking point, with the future of NHS dentistry in particular now in question.

The Scottish Dental Association has been founded with the aim of giving a voice to the dental profession in Scotland, and as we grow, to engage in meaningful negotiation with the Scottish Government so that the working lives and conditions for all members of the dental team, from practice owners and associates, salaried dentists in secondary care, therapists, nurses and technicians, are enhanced.

An initial board of directors has been formed and we are currently in the process of incorporating the association with Companies House. It is expected this process will complete in the coming days.

The need for democratic representation is of paramount importance and so as the group members grow in numbers, the intention will be to hold elections to form a committee. We would hope to achieve this within a period of eight weeks from the associations inception.

In the interim period, the SDA has already reached out to the Scottish Dental Practice Committee (SDPC) and this has been met favourably by their chairman. We very much look forward to working closely and constructively with the SDPC in order to represent the voice of our profession in future Government negotiations.

We encourage all members of the dental team to join the association and engage with us on social media, so that we may grow in strength and rebuild the dental profession in Scotland.

 

 

More Posts from The Scottish Dental Association

SDA Report of the LDC Conference “Scottish Dentistry: Where next?”

Event: LDC Conference Scottish Dentistry: Where next? Date: 27 May 2021 Panel: Tom Ferris, David Notman, Alan Whittet, David McPherson, Lindsay Milton Analysis: By The SDA on 28 May 2021 The SDA welcomed the Local Dental Committees initiative to engage with the profession, Practitioner Services Division, and the Chief Dental Officer for Scotland. We were delighted to have many members at the event, and we continue to welcome their feedback and comments. We would encourage our colleagues who missed the event to re watch it at their earliest convenience. This event continues the discussion we started with The SDA Summit

Read More »

The SDA Summit

The SDA Summit We are delighted to announce our first SDA event on Tuesday 16th of March from 12.00 – 2.30 on webinarjam. This webinar aims to inform and stimulate discussion around the promised changes to the post-pandemic SDR. If you are a dental professional and you have questions or ideas then please get in touch and book the event here. The Chief Dental Officer (CDO) has stated that he wishes to engage widely with the profession. This is a new dynamic and presents a unique opportunity for the majority of the dental profession to have a role in this

Read More »

“Scottish Dental Students Forced to repeat a year” BBC News

Scottish dental students forced to repeat a year – BBC News A massive blow to the profession as VTs repeat a year, no new graduates, EU dentists heading home and the difficulty taking on dentists out with Scotland. It doesn’t matter how long qualified you are if you have never had a Scottish NHS list number you will be offered COVID support along the same lines as the recently qualified vocational trainees. As we all know the only way NHS dentistry has survived this long is through volume of work and COVID has put a complete halt on this. We

Read More »

Consultation on SDR Reform

As you will be aware the SDR and general dental services are to be fundamentally changed. This will directly effect each one of us and our patients‘ future care. Tom Ferris (CDO Scotland) has said that there will be consultation with the profession and the SDA will ensure that we present all of your views coherently. The survey is being conducted via Scottish Dental Network. See link below. Initial SDA Consultation on SDR Reform – Scottish Dental Network

Read More »

NHS Lothian COVID-19 Update No 22 – 27th October 2020

Angus Walls, Director Edinburgh Dental Institute 4th Floor Lauriston Building Lauriston Place Edinburgh EH3 9HA Content of this update PCA and SDR 148 Patient Communication National SoP IPC guidance PPE stock and usage SARS CoV2 vaccination program   Dear Colleagues, I am sending you the most recent PCA from CDO in association with this letter, I must apologise, this should have come to you yesterday. As I am sure you are aware there was an announcement in Parliament recently that a full range of dental care would be available through NHS dental practices from the 1st November. This PCA underpins

Read More »

Agenda for Change

The eagerly anticipated “Agenda for Change” (within the NHS) highlights once more just how far Scottish NHS dentists have fallen. The Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) amply demonstrates how they feel about dentistry and the professionals showing no improved recognition over the last two decades and no peer acknowledgement. https://www.nhsemployers.org/pay-pensions-and-reward/agenda-for-change We can never aspire to this but who works for nothing and how far are we prepared to be left behind? The question must be asked in relation to the act of NHS dental Items of Service (IOS) treatment because they impact hugely on everything that we and our

Read More »

SDR Recommendations

6 October 2020 Scottish Dental Association Working Group on new SDR proposals   Preamble The Scottish Dental Association (SDA) recognises, along with almost the entire profession and the current CDO, that the pre COVID SDR is not fit for purpose for the likely future situation we face. It should be noted anecdotal evidence suggests most practitioners have felt the previous SDR was not fit for purpose for several years. To propose potential new solutions the SDA has formed a working group to briefly formulate potential new SDR options. The SDA welcomes feedback from all sectors within Scottish dentistry on this

Read More »