1 December 2011
Dental Protection welcomes the announcement from the Department of Health that there will be a public consultation about the regulation of healthcare workers with HIV that currently prevents some members of the dental profession from working normally. The existing regulations are more than two decades old and do not take into account the pharmaceutical advances in controlling the infectivity of the retrovirus. Nor do they recognise the current standards of audited infection control that all dental surgeries are expected to achieve.
Kevin Lewis, Dental Director said; “Dental Protection has always championed the interests of members of the dental profession who are seen to be unfairly treated. The introduction of effective antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s combined with the absence of any proven transmission in the dental setting makes it totally unfair to continue to force members of the dental team to quit their chosen profession. Apart from the huge financial and personal consequences, these skilled clinicians are removed from the workforce that currently struggles to provide sufficient access to dental care for the growing UK population.
The changes to the regulations proposed by the Department of Health are a logical step that restores fairness for these members of the dental profession as well as safely managing the dental needs of the population.
Over the last ten years, Dental Protection has led the way in this debate and the organisation will be actively contributing to the consultation process in order to protect the interests of its members and of the wider dental profession.”
Media contact
David Croser
Dental Protection
33 Cavendish Square
London
W1G 0PS
T: 020 7399 1339 E: david.croser@mps.org.uk