DLA Northern Ireland Committee start Studying for Statutory Registration
In preparation for Statutory Registration in the Summer, the DLA Northern Ireland Committee organised a series of presentations to explain what the changes meant and what dental technicians would need to do to become registered.
The 'Study Evening' was extremely well supported with 60 lab owners and dental technicians in attendance. Presenting to the group was Claire Poole, DLA Laboratory Development Manager, Richard Daniels, DLA Chief Executive and Maurice King from Schottlander.
Claire Poole started the evening with an overview of the Statutory Registration process and the Gateway Agreement, she then went on to explain Continuous Professional Development (CPD) and what commitments the individual dental technician would have to make once registered. Claire also explained the IDEA online support which will maintain a comprehensive list of courses available across the UK for dental technicians; Claire also explained that the online IDEA facility will help dental technicians and laboratory owners keep track of their CPD so that when they need to prove that they have attended training courses to the General Dental Council (GDC) they are able to do so.
Following on from Claire was Richard Daniels, the Chief Executive for the DLA. Before starting his presentation Richard emphasised the importance of understanding the implications of Statutory Registration, particularly as this would probably be the last opportunity the audience would have to ask questions.
The main topic covered was that of the new dental contract, whilst England have been aware of the changes in April, Northern Ireland had not begun their consultation, however, it was felt that the Northern Ireland group needed to be made aware of the issues affecting English labs so that they can prepare for the inevitable confusion and downturn in work.
On a lighter note Richard then went on to present this year's DTS, which is taking place in Coventry on May 5th & 6th. The presentation included a breakdown of the prize draws available to dental technicians and dental laboratory owners for attending and a brief summary of the two headline seminars: Luke Barnett and Klaus Müterthies.
The evening was wrapped up with Maurice King presenting the Schottlander Matchmaker system with a hands on demonstration and a powerpoint presentation. Trevor Dundee, the Northern Ireland Committee Chairman commented: “this evening has been another superbly attended DLA event in Northern Ireland and I hope that future events will match this very high standard and encourage Northern Ireland labs not only to attend DLA events but also consider the benefits of being a DLA member, particularly this year when the DLA will be representing their interests in the new contract negotiations”.
