GDC’s planned fee increase rejected by majority of dentists

The General Dental Council's (GDC's) planned 64 percent increase to its annual retention fee has been rejected by an overwhelming majority of dentists.

Responses to the GDC consultation on the controversial move have shown that 97 percent of dental professionals oppose the fee increase, while 80 percent said they do not agree the regulator has provided a clear enough account of its own cost management efforts.

Moreover, 64 percent said the GDC has not offered a convincing case for its increased resource needs for 2015, which were the main justification of the planned ARF hike.

The British Dental Association (BDA), which has vocally opposed the GDC plans since they were first mooted, has taken the results of the consultation as a vindication of its stance.

Mick Armstrong, chair of the BDA principal executive committee, said: "An executive summary simply cannot do justice to the thousands of voices from across the profession that have lost trust in their professional regulator."

The GDC had originally planned to make its final decision on the ARF increase at its meeting this week, but has pushed the process back to the end of October while it considers the issue further.