HELLO 2022!
Hi Everyone,
As the dust settles after Christmas 2021 and we remember the Festive Cheer that prevailed at that time of the year how can we be anything but deliriously happy - so what made Yuletide 2021 so memorable?
As always we had the GDC constantly reminding us about registration renewal and threatening all sorts if we did not submit our ARF/CPD/Indemnity confirmation on time - hope you have all complied!
Hot on the heels of the GDC adding to the Yuletide cheer comes HMRC as always with a thick envelope containing reams of paper detailing all sorts of stuff that only an accountant can understand - nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Just as we were recovering in comes the new target announcement from the Centre. This decision is frankly appalling and has been taken without due consideration. This casts a further doubt in the minds of Dentists and demonstrates a total lack of understanding and empathy for a profession that has given blood sweat and tears building up their practice and patient base, coped through the last two years of the Pandemic and delivered NHS services in the interests of patient care. The BDA are hot on the case and we also want to do something locally.
But wait - we have the latest update from OCDO, on Thursday last it landed from OCDO detailing the Exceptional Circumstances Arrangements. (Worth a read if you have not seen it already).
Our approach now firstly to work with commissioners locally to establish how this will come out in the wash across our patch and that the whole process is joined up - we will report back on the discussion.
So what should you do?
The BDA will be sending out questionnaires to members to get a picture of the situation so if you are a member please do return the information ASAP
Our Area Team are working on a Capacity Exercise to establish the level of effect the current situation has had on our Dental Practices and how this can best be managed during the Exceptional Circumstances - we will feed back on the outcome
Locally we need to understand how our practitioners are coping with the situation. There are a number of issues that will surface in circumstances such as this and our LASC LDC Exec have been trained in the handling of these delicate situations. We are committed to Practitioner Support in its various forms so please remember;
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
The morale of the Profession is very low at present and it is essential that everyone has access to appropriate support to help them through the situation. We are developing a specific Practitioner Support Programme to manage the support of our Dental Teams in these difficult times so we need to understand the nature of the problems in order to support Practitioners and be able to give our Area Team the full picture. Should you be experiencing any problems or have concerns of any kind please do not hesitate to get in touch. All our Practitioner Support cases are dealt in total confidence.
You can contact us through;
Comms Team on admin@lasc-ldc.co.uk Or me directly on bernard@lasc-ldc.co.uk
Just one more thing...
Just prior to Christmas I received a nasty letter from “Traffic for London” (it is a council run jobsworth organisation) informing me that I was observed parking in a “no go” area by an eagle-eyed traffic warden. I rang the contact number assuming it was a scam only to be told that they had a picture of my car in this situation and it plainly indicated it was me. They were unable to send the picture at the time but said I would find it on the website later and could respond. They were not interested that I lived in Lancashire and at the time of the offence was even further away in the Lakes on holiday. When I went on the website there was firstly the DVLA description of my car which is described as black and underneath that was a picture of what was supposed to be my car driving away from the scene whilst Mr Eagle Eyes was scribbling down the registration. I responded with an initial observation of the details they had on their website. Firstly my car is black and their pictured car was silver and also a different model. The number plates were similar but the spacing and the letters and numbers layout was different. I did explain that quite clearly there was no comparison between the two vehicles as they were different colours, different models and the registrations were also different. I held back from recommending a visit to Specsavers for our over enthusiastic Traffic Warden but will await the response!
So lets hope things improve in 2022 and we are able to get on with the job we are there for without any further interference!
We must keep upbeat and support each other in the New Year and don’t forget - your LDC Exec is there for you 24/7/365 on the emails above.
Stay safe everyone,
Bernard
Bernard Alston
Secretary LASC LDC Exec
Practitioner Support Lead