Susie Sanderson, Chair of the BDA Executive Board, has written to Chief Dental Officer Barry Cockroft seeking an explanation for his decision to reject a referral of the HTM 01-05 proposals to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
NICE Chief Executive Andrew Dillon said that the Chief Dental Officer had said that such a referral was 'not necessary or appropriate'. Dr Sanderson has written to seek clarification of how Dr Cockcroft came to this conclusion. She has also asked for the grading of the evidence supplied in November, as was promised at the time (
Susie Sanderson said, 'Given the impact of the standards demanded by HTM 01-05, it is not unreasonable for the BDA and individual dentists to seek reassurance that its scientific foundations are firm. The Department of Health's delay first in providing the scientific references, then in the gradation of those references and now its rejection of an objective external analysis, do nothing to offer that reassurance. I have today written to Dr Cockcroft urging him to address this issue which is causing significant anxiety in dental practice.'
She added that the dental profession was committed to the highest standards of patient safety and was happy to invest in pursuit of those standards, but the investment had to be in changes for which there is a robust evidence base.
