CQC appoints BDA committee chair as national dental adviser

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced the appointment of Dr John Milne, the current chair of the British Dental Association's (BDA's) general dental practice committee, as its senior national dental adviser.

Dr Milne will take up his new role in March 2015 and will work closely with the CQC's primary medical services senior management team and inspectors, along with dental providers and stakeholders, to help develop a new inspection model.

He will also work with CQC inspection teams to give expert advice on professional practice in dental care, after his role as chair of the BDA committee comes to an end.

Professor Steve Field, chief inspector of general practice at the CQC, said: "I am thrilled that John is joining us. He has a vast understanding of dentistry and will be a tremendous addition to our team."

Following a recent public consultation, the CQC will be publishing its final provider handbook for dentistry before it rolls out its new approach in April 2015.

It aims to develop new ways to inspect services, introduce a system of intelligent monitoring and pay more attention to patients' experiences of care.