Yesterday (27/10/23) the Society of British Dental Nurses had respresentation at the open GDC Council meeting in Birmingham. We were keen to observe the decision making and results of the Annual Rention Fee (ARF) discussions. The approval of the the option to reduce the ARF was taken on board and the option to reduce the fee for the wider dental team to £96.00, a reduction of £18 (18.8%) in 2024 and dentists fees to £621 ( a reduction of £69 or 10%).
The intention is to maintain this level in 2025 according to the GDC – for the full report please click on the following link – https://www.gdc-uk.org/news-blogs/news/detail/2023/10/27/priorities-arf-2024
The Society are obviously delighted to see the sensible and long awaited reduction in fees. The fee has always been high on most agendas in dental nursing meetings and on social media forums, whilst most are delighted to see the changes for 2024/25 it would be foolish to say that not everyone has responded without further commentary. The biggest conversation always comes when dental nurses question why they are expected to pay the same fee as a dental hygienist, dental therapist, orthodontic therapist and clinical dental technologist and the Society can not loose sight of this.
The Society will continue to push the GDC on this, if Enhanced Continual Professional Development (ECPD) can be seperated for the 3 professional groups then surely the ARF should be too. One of the first comments yesterday was – “…they are so out of touch...” and the reality is everyone is having to make daliy choices, decisions about the cost of living, shopping, fuel and heating bills. So for now we are delighted that at least for the £18 saving.