CDO Tom Ferris and DCDO Gillian Leslie speaking at the conference
The Scottish Local Dental Committees held their annual conference on 22 April. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Humza Yousaf, the Chief Dental Officer, Tom Ferris and one of the Deputy Chief Dental Officers, Gillian Leslie all spoke at the event. David McColl, Chair of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee (SDPC), also provided an overview of the work carried out by SDPC over the past year.
This year's event was marked by lively debate. During the conference LDC's also put forward, debated and voted on motions that may get taken forward by SDPC as future policies. The motions included funding, waiting times, abusive patients, allowances, and recruitment and retention issues. In the current situation where dentists are on an interim funding model and await much-needed contract reform the debates were very timely. The motions that were passed by Conference will be discussed by SDPC at their upcoming meeting on 11 May.
Chair of Conference Lindsay Milton said: "The conference is a great way to support and maintain links with the LDC's. The Scottish Government officials attending this year engaged directly with delegates, allowing open questions to be taken from the floor. Having cancelled the conference in 2020, and holding an online event in 2021, to meet in person offered a great chance to debate, socialise among peers and offer each other support."