I am very much looking forward to welcoming you to Brighton for our Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees. Along with the agenda committee and our colleagues at the BDA, we have taken on board your comments and worked hard to put together a programme that we hope will engage and inspire. We have reached out to key speakers, in line with our overarching theme of exploring what "good" looks like from different perspectives.
Given that it is an election year, Dentistry is in the media a great deal and is an important doorstep issue for politicians and the public alike. It is likely that there will be more scrutiny and interest in what we say and the way we represent our profession. With NHS dentistry facing an existential threat, the NHS workforce experiencing diminished hope, Integrated Care Boards grappling with delegated commissioning, and patients confronting an escalating crisis in access to NHS dental services, the need for dialogue and collective problems solving has never been more critical.
Our first day will be focused on hearing different perspectives from distinguished speakers, while our second day will be devoted to motions LDCs have brought forward. It is an honour to chair this conference. Like you, I take pride in being an elected representative of our profession. We willingly accept the responsibility to support, represent, and influence on behalf of our electorate NHS GDPs. LDCs were established by statute when the NHS was first formed, and I firmly believe they play a crucial role in shaping the future landscape too.
Thank you to those of you who contributed to the ‘Slido’ question I shared previously to explore what "good" looks like from the perspective of LDCs. Three issues emerged: reform funding, support and engagement with the workforce, and ensuring sustainable, equitable quality care. These topics are also, perhaps unsurprisingly, reflected in the motions submitted. You may notice that motions have been divided by objectives to aid democratic discussion and timing so that we can reinforce or challenge current policy, scrutinize, or support ideas both new and old, to influence the future of our profession within the NHS framework.
It is my hope that we can influence change for the better, as losing NHS Dentistry from our society cannot be the goal. I believe there is a unique opportunity currently to influence change. For too long, we have seen our service wither on the vine; I hope we can change direction and rebuild a service that serves the patient, the practitioner, the practice, and the state.
