HEE East of England

Returning to Practice

These pages are designed to assist those dentists who are thinking of returning to practice after a period away from clinical work for whatever reason. If you are in this category you may well find it somewhat daunting to return to dentistry or just want some information about the possibilities of doing so. You are not alone in feeling like this and yet the experience of some people is that if the break is not too long their dental skills can return quite quickly as soon as they are working in a supportive clinical environment. However, it is vital that patient safety is not compromised and that you are confident that you are able to operate in a safe, consistent manner according to best practice. Hopefully you will have planned your break in advance and will know what you need to do when you return.

When you are ready to return to practice you will need to decide how and where you wish to work. This could be full or part-time, in primary or secondary care, and could be in a predominantly NHS or private practice. Obviously you will first have to ensure that your full registration with the GDC is current (which will entail, among other things, having kept up your CPD hours including attendance at GDC core courses during your time away from dental practice) and that your indemnification is organised.

HEE runs Dental Workforce Development courses, which are booked on-line via Accent. See Dental Courses and DWD. Some of the London teaching hospitals can offer hands-on refresher or specialised courses. The LonDEC centre provides courses; their website is: https://www.londec.co.uk/

If you decide that you wish to return to primary care NHS dentistry you will first have to find a practice that can offer you a position. This can be achieved by checking the advertisements in the British Dental Journal, the BDJ Jobs website, or contacting some of the dental agencies. There are also some other dental websites which have information about vacancies. The regulations that cover inclusion on the NHS Dental Performers List the NHS (Performers List) Regulations 201. You will need to complete the national online application on the NPL website: https://pcse.england.nhs.uk/services/performers-lists/dental-performers-list-for-england/new-performers/

Thursday, 30 April, 2020

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Thursday, 30 April, 2020