Blog
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Harrogate for this year’s Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees. We are being hosted by the Majestic Hotel which I hope exceeds your expectations. I have to be honest it wasn’t my first choice as I would have liked to welcome you to my home city of York but truth be told there are just too many of us to fit any hotel there! I wanted as much as possible an “all under one roof” event and The Majestic fitted that bill.
Still, you have to admit anywhere in North Yorkshire is impressive, that includes the scenery, the history, the food and drink (and I include wine as we have several vineyards in the county) and of course the people.
Our profession has a very intimate connection with people and that will continue despite rapid advancement of A.I. There is a trust in the patient / dentist relationship that I believe is unique to us, and only those that have worked in it appreciate the depth of that bond. The government certainly doesn’t appreciate it, but then again do they appreciate anything to do with dentistry? Well maybe they will in the upcoming General Election when they do their door-to-door campaigning and find our loyal patients demand a better NHS dental service!
Personally, I have devoted my entire career to providing NHS dental care and it has given me a great deal of satisfaction, but would I choose the same path again should I be turning the clock back 30 years? I don’t think I would, and I don’t blame colleagues for taking the private option. We are health care professionals, but we cannot provide that healthcare if the business model in the NHS is forcing businesses to close. We must fight for NHS dental services to be better.
I hope by the end of this conference we will have inspired the next generation of younger dentists to continue the good fight. If we sit back and resign ourselves then that is what will happen. The BDA and LDCs have kept NHS dentistry in the limelight and without the negative backlash that the government expected. The next 12-18 months I believe will be the make or break of NHS dentistry …. but what do I know? (not a lot according to my wife and kids!). What I do know is without it the country, and society as a whole, will be much worse off.
Please find following some specific information to help with preparations ahead of the event.
MOTIONS
Please read the list of motions contained in the conference papers ahead of the event and submit any requests for changes to the wording of motions to
LDC Representatives – voting
LDC Representatives are required to bring a smartphone or tablet along to the event this year to participate in the voting. Further details will be provided in due course to those eligible to vote during motions.
CONFERENCE DINNER – Thursday 8 June
The Conference Dinner will take place on the Thursday evening in the Ballroom at the hotel. The evening begins with a drinks reception at 19:15 in the Reading and Drawing room, with dinner service commencing at 20:00.
Dress code is black tie. If you have not booked but would now like to attend, please contact Fiona to ensure you can be accommodated (
TRAVEL AND EXPENSE CLAIMING
Information to help with travel arrangements and expense claiming (including the appropriate claim forms for LDC Reps and GDPC members) can be found on the website.
To help you with your travel plans it may be useful to highlight that conference on the Thursday will commence at 13:30 with lunch served from 12:30. Conference will conclude at 13:00 on Friday with lunch served until 14:00.
EXHIBITION
We will be joined by an array of exhibitors and their support of the event is incredibly valued. Please do take the time to visit the exhibition during the breaks.
CONFERENCE PAPERS AT THE EVENT
Please use this link to download the Conference papers. Hard copies will not be provided on the day, details of each motion will be displayed on the AV screens, but you are welcome to bring your own device if you would like to view the information electronically during the event or print beforehand if you prefer paper copies.
A joining instruction email will be sent to all delegates a week prior with a final summary of information. In the meantime please direct any questions you may have about the arrangements for the event to
I look forward to seeing you in Harrogate!
Mark Green 
Chair of LDC Conference 2023
DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel & Spa
Thursday 8 – Friday 9 June 2023
I am looking forward to welcoming you to the 2023 LDC Conference at the Majestic Hotel in Harrogate. Being born (South Yorkshire), educated (West Yorkshire) and live and work (North Yorkshire) the conference had to be in Yorkshire! Hardly well-travelled I hear you say, but when Yorkshire is so perfect why go anywhere else?
We return to a two-day format this year, running conference from lunchtime to lunchtime with the formal dinner in-between. The event provides an opportunity to get reacquainted, welcome newcomers to the LDC community and at the dinner celebrate our Unsung Heroes.
Conference will officially commence at 13:30 on the Thursday and conclude at 13:00 on the Friday (with lunch available either side).
We all appreciate how invaluable face-to-face interaction is but acknowledging that some may be prevented from attending in person, it will be possible to view and listen in to discussions taking place on the main stage via livestream link. Please note that virtual attendees will not be able to participate in debate, present or respond to motions, and the dynamic and interactive nature of the conference does require those selected by their LDCs as Representatives to attend in person. This will ensure they can debate and challenge, agree and disagree, and have the voice of the LDC heard.
I want this conference to truly reflect the thoughts and feelings of the attending delegates who represent dentists on the frontline and as such I’m asking for motions that will stimulate debate.
We will set aside appropriate time to thoroughly debate what we want the future to look like. So come prepared with your LDCs opinions. Nothing is off the table so to speak.
Please ask your LDCs to come with questions and if possible proposed solutions. This process starts with submitting motions so think hard about what you want this conference to achieve. Please do start submitting your motions as soon as possible.
MOTIONS
The LDC Conference website provides lots of advice on composing motions and how to make an active contribution to this year’s conference. Don’t miss the opportunity to exercise your right to speak out!
We will be continuing with the format used in recent years for submitting motions with a narrative. The intention being to provide delegates with enough information to form a view and be prepared in advance if they wish to speak for or against on the day.
Because motions are intended to give direction for GDPC policy please find here a list of existing GDPC polices. This outlines how GDPC has acted on motions carried at previous conferences and how much they have achieved on our behalf.
Motions should be submitted using the online form by midnight on Tuesday 11 April.
ELECTIONS
To help ensure a smooth running of the event (and accommodate those who may be attending virtually) nominations in advance for the positions outlined below are encouraged. Except for the ‘Representative to GDPC’ position, in-person attendees will also have the opportunity to nominate from the floor.
Advance nominations can be submitted online up until midnight on Tuesday 11 April.
Elections (where necessary) will take place for the following positions:
- Chair elect of conference (to chair conference in 2025)
- Honorary treasurer
- Two honorary auditors
- One representative to GDPC* (*Nominations must be submitted in advance for this role)
- One representative to the board of managers of the British Dental Guild
- One member of Agenda Committee.
Information about what each of the roles entails can be found on the website here.
DO YOU HAVE AN UNSUNG HERO?
We all have members in our LDCs who have worked tirelessly during their professional lives, often in the background never seeking the limelight, giving up many evenings for LDC business, taking valuable time out of their practising careers.
If you have someone like this on your committee who you feel deserves recognition, please consider nominating them for an Unsung Hero Award this year. Further details can be found online here and the closing date for nominations is also Tuesday 11 April.
SPECIAL OBSERVER PLACES – for newcomers to conference
In addition to the normal allocation of conference places each LDC is once again permitted to register one ‘Special LDC Observer’ place this year.
This is an opportunity for newcomers to immerse themselves in dental politics and hopefully launch a career-long interest. These special observer places are reserved for those who are new to dental representation or first-time conference goers.
If an LDC has someone who meets this criterion, they can be registered online selecting ‘Special LDC Observer’ as delegate type.
The LDC Conference website provides lots more advice on how to contribute.
REGISTRATION, DINNER TICKETS, TRAVEL AND HOTEL
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT
As usual the Conference is open to nominated LDC representatives and members of the BDA General Dental Practice Committee. Once LDCs have agreed who will attend to represent them delegates must register in advance for the event.
All conference places (including live-stream access) and dinner tickets should be booked online by Tuesday 11 April
Individual email addresses and GDC numbers are required at point of registration for all attendees.
How many people can my LDC send?
If you are unsure how many people your LDC can register for the Conference, you can check the list of permitted attendees for each LDC here.
Where an LDC is entitled to send a sole Representative, they are also permitted to send an accompanying Observer. The conference fees for this permitted Observer will be covered, however the LDC is responsible for funding dinner tickets, travel and accommodation expenses.
Plus, as highlighted earlier. in addition to the usual allocation of places we have some places reserved for Special LDC Observers – (this special ticket type must be approved by LDC Secretaries and is for those who are first time conference goers).
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Closing date Tuesday 11 April
CONFERENCE DINNER
The black-tie dinner will take place on the Thursday evening, also at the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate Majestic Hotel. Dinner tickets are funded for those registering as LDC Representatives and are available for £65 per person for all other attendees. Additional tickets for guests can be booked online too.
Drinks reception from 19:15 with dinner served at 19:45.
HOTEL BOOKINGS
We have allocations of bedrooms available at nearby hotels (all within walking distance) and reservations are being managed by our appointed accommodation agent MICE Concierge.
You will be prompted to book accommodation online as part of the event registration process.
Accommodation will be assigned from our rooming blocks on a first-come-first-served basis.
Please note the release date for all un-allocated bedrooms is Tuesday 11 April so please ensure you reserve your room before this date to guarantee availability and discounted rates.
Further information about hotel booking is available here.
TRAVEL AND EXPENSE CLAIMING
Information about travel arrangements and expense claiming can be also found on the website.
FURTHER ASSISTANCE OR QUESTIONS
If you have a question regarding your motion submission or nomination please contact Alexandra Cenic
If you require assistance regarding your registration and the logistical arrangements for the event please contact Fiona Feltham (Events Manager)
I very much look forward to welcoming you all to Harrogate!
Best wishes
Mark Green
2023 LDC Conference Chair
I’m sure you will join me in thanking Dan who had the unenviable job of chairing the first in person conference since 2019. Obviously with the threat that the conference might return to a virtual one at short notice it had to be planned in such a way that could allow that to happen. This took some amazing work behind the scenes in particular from Fiona Feltham and Alex Cenic as well as many others at the BDA. Along with my colleagues on the agenda committee.
Details of motions passed at the 2022 Conference can be found here, along with election results.
Click here to access Conference footage and here for copies of speakers’ presentations.
Congratulations to the following colleagues who were elected to positions:
• Agi Tarnowski (Chair-elect)
• Peter Hodgkinson (Honorary Treasurer)
• Jonathan Randall and Martin Dyer (Honorary Auditors)
• Stuart Allan (Conference Representative to the GDPC)
• Judith Husband (Member to Conference Agenda Committee)
• Jonathan Randall (Member to British Dental Guild Board of Managers)
I would like to think that a virtual LDC conference is a thing of the past and with that in mind I would like to invite you to 2023 LDC Conference at the Majestic hotel in Harrogate.
Being born (South Yorkshire), educated (West Yorkshire) and live and work (North Yorkshire) the conference had to be in Yorkshire!
Hardly well-travelled I hear you say, but when Yorkshire is so perfect why go anywhere else? You’ll be welcomed with open arms to 2023 Conference where this time we hope to have some more input from those that should have been there in Wales. Here’s hoping anyway as I know Dan did his upmost in that respect.
As NHS dentistry is becoming ever more a political issue every day then maybe those that can steer the direction of travel will see the need to attend this highly influential event.
Registration for the event will open in early February with a closing date for registrations, motions and nominations set for early April. Please check back for updates, but for now save the date!
Thursday 8 – Friday 9 June 2023.
Hope to see many new and not so new faces next summer.
Best wishes
Mark Green
LDC Conference Chair 2023
It is a great honour to be welcoming delegates to Newport for this year’s Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees, which will be held at the International Conference Centre Wales with dinner on Thursday 9 June and Conference on Friday 10 June.
Why Newport? As you may know, I hail originally from Low Fell in Gateshead. To cut a very long story short, I have worked just a stone’s throw from the venue, in Ringland, for the past 13 years. Given the level of support my colleagues in Wales have offered it seemed fitting that I should chair Conference here in the Land of Song.
Newport is a city with a proud industrial past in steelmaking and coal, now finding its way in a very different world. It is perhaps best known in history for being the setting of a violent night in the history of the development of British democracy. In 1839 thousands of Chartists, whose demands included extension of the voting franchise beyond the landed gentry, descended upon Newport after the imprisonment of some of their number in the Westgate Hotel; a bloody battle ensued.
I am so pleased and proud that we were able to keep Conference going in virtual form during the pandemic. It was imperative that the profession did not lose its voice at such a critical time and that those holding the purse strings could be challenged and held to account, whilst LDC representatives could direct GDPC to the issues that mattered most.
I wish I could say that the pandemic had finally illustrated to the governments of the UK the crisis that had already set in prior to 2020. Whilst there have been some rays of hope, the shadows of despair that have held our profession back for so long show no sign of abating. The recruitment crisis is deepening and funding in real terms has reduced over and over again, whilst unrealistic targets and metrics are applied. There is still much talk of ‘incentivising’ dentists to do the right thing, where merely avoiding penalties and clawback by the state are often the reality. The added expectation by some patients that they can buy the ‘perfect smile’, the resulting impact of dental tourism and the aggressive marketing of direct-to-patient dentistry creates the recipe for a perfect storm.
We have some very talented, caring and committed people in our profession and there is always hope so long as that remains true. I am asking those of you who are old hands at Conference to reach out to those attending in person for the first time, whoever they may be. Having new faces with fresh ideas is essential to the evolution of any movement and we have tried to make this one of the key themes of Conference this year.
Please find following some specific information to help with preparations ahead of the event.
Motions
Please read the list of motions contained in the conference papers ahead of the event and submit any requests for changes to the wording of motions to
LDC Representatives – voting
LDC Representatives are required to bring a smartphone or tablet along to the event this year to participate in the voting. Further details will be provided in due course to those eligible to vote during motions.
Conference Dinner – Thursday 9 June
The Conference Dinner will this year take place the evening before the Conference, also in the Woodland Suite at the ICC Wales. The evening begins with a drinks reception at 19:15 with dinner service commencing at 20:00. Dress code is black tie. If you have not booked but would now like to attend, please contact Fiona to ensure you can be accommodated (
Travel and expenses
Information about travel arrangements and expense claiming (including the appropriate claim forms for LDC Reps and GDPC members) is all available on the website.
To help you with your travel plans it may be useful to highlight that Conference on the Friday will commence at 09:00 (join us for networking breakfast from 08:00) and conclude at 17:00.
Sponsors and exhibitors
We are delighted to have BDA Indemnity sponsoring the event this year and thank them for their support. We will be joined by an array of exhibitors too and their support is also valued and please do take the time to visit the exhibition during the breaks.
Conference papers at the event
Please use this link to download the Conference papers. Hard copies will not be provided on the day, but you are encouraged to bring your own device if you would like to view the information electronically during the event or print beforehand if you prefer paper copies.
I look forward to welcoming you to Wales!
Warmest wishes
Dan Cook
Chair of LDC Conference 2022
www.ldcuk.org #LDCConf2022
International Conference Centre, Wales
Conference Dinner – Thursday 9 June 2022
Conference – Friday 10 June 2022
I hope that, like me, you are excited by the prospect of finally having the chance to see everyone again.
The focus this year is very much on providing an engaging face-to-face conference and dinner; a reunion for some, and an inaugural outing for others.
It is an honour to welcome you to Newport, in the Gwent LDC region, where I have practised for the past 13 years.
The International Convention Centre Wales is surrounded by fresh air and woodland yet is only a stone’s throw from the M4. You’ll find we have consciously opted for large plentiful event space; a space that uniquely provides us with access to outdoor terraces adjacent to woodland too.
The dinner will take place the evening before the conference; an ideal opportunity to get reacquainted, welcome newcomers and celebrate our Unsung Heroes – we have a couple of years of catching up to do!
MOTIONS
The heart of conference is always the debate of motions, your opportunity to put your proposals before your colleagues so that these may (hopefully) be approved and carried forward to the GDPC. The deadline to submit motions has now passed and the list of motions to be presented will be circulated to all registered attendees with final papers on the 13 May.
The LDC Conference website provides lots of advice on how to contribute. Don’t miss the opportunity to exercise your right to speak out!
Because motions are intended to give direction for GDPC policy please find here a list of existing GDPC polices. This outlines how GDPC has acted on motions carried at previous conferences and how much they have achieved on our behalf.
SPECIAL OBSERVERS - newcomers to conference
We are delighted to be welcoming some first-time attendees to Conference this year. To help newcomers feel prepared an informal induction session will take place via Zoom on the evening of Thursday 26 May. A pre-dinner meet and greet will be organised for arrival at the event too. More details to follow.
If your LDC has someone who might be interested to experience the event for the first-time, as Zoe Connelly from the Agenda Committee says in this post,
REGISTRATION, DINNER TICKETS, AND HOTEL BOOKINGS
Registration for the event has now closed. Joining instructions will be circulated to all registered delegates in due course.
In the meantime please contact Fiona Feltham (Event Manager) with queries
TRAVEL AND EXPENSE CLAIMING
Information about travel arrangements and expense claiming can be found on the website.
FURTHER ASSISTANCE OR QUESTIONS
If you have a question regarding your motion submission or nomination please contact Alexandra Cenic
If you require assistance regarding your registration and the logistical arrangements for the event please contact Fiona Feltham (Events Manager)
I very much look forward to welcoming you all to Newport!
Best wishes
Dan Cook
2022 LDC Conference Chair
International Conference Centre, Wales
Conference Dinner – Thursday 9 June 2022
Conference – Friday 10 June 2022
I hope that, like me, you are excited by the prospect of finally having the chance to see everyone again.
The focus this year is very much on providing an engaging face-to-face conference and dinner; a reunion for some, and an inaugural outing for others.
It is an honour to welcome you to Newport, in the Gwent LDC region, where I have practised for the past 13 years.
The International Convention Centre Wales is surrounded by fresh air and woodland yet is only a stone’s throw from the M4. You’ll find we have consciously opted for large plentiful event space; a space that uniquely provides us with access to outdoor terraces adjacent to woodland too.
The dinner will take place the evening before the conference; an ideal opportunity to get reacquainted, welcome newcomers and celebrate our Unsung Heroes – we have a couple of years of catching up to do!
Acknowledging that some may be prevented from attending in person this year, we are looking to offer live-stream access to the conference as a test component. Those viewing by live-stream will have the opportunity to keep abreast of the discussions taking place on the main stage and view presentations but will not be able to participate in debate, present or respond to motions. The dynamic and interactive nature of the conference does, however, require those selected by their LDCs as Representatives to attend in person. This will ensure they can debate and challenge, agree and disagree, and have the voice of the LDC heard.
MOTIONS
The heart of conference is always the debate of motions, your opportunity to put your proposals before your colleagues so that these may (hopefully) be approved and carried forward to the GDPC. Please start discussions in your LDC now and submit as early as possible. Always remember that a motion carried by a strong majority gives our negotiators authority when they meet the other side.
The LDC Conference website provides lots of advice on composing motions and how to make an active contribution to this year’s conference. Don’t miss the opportunity to exercise your right to speak out!
We will be continuing with the format used in recent years for submitting motions with a narrative. The intention being to provide delegates with enough information to form a view and be prepared in advance if they wish to speak for or against on the day.
Because motions are intended to give direction for GDPC policy please find here a list of existing GDPC polices. This outlines how GDPC has acted on motions carried at previous conferences and how much they have achieved on our behalf.
Motions should be submitted using the online form by 12 noon on Friday 8 April.
ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS DURING CONFERENCE – Nominations in advance
To help ensure a smooth running of the event nominations for the positions outlined below are once again required in advance. Nominations must be submitted in advance (by 8 April) using the online nomination forms available on the website. It will not be possible to nominate ‘from the floor’.
Elections (where necessary) will take place for the following positions:
- Chair elect of conference (to chair conference in 2024)
- Honorary treasurer
- Two honorary auditors
- One representative to GDPC
- One representative to the board of managers of the British Dental Guild
- One member of Agenda Committee.
Information about what each of the roles entails can be found on the website here.
DO YOU HAVE AN UNSUNG HERO?
We all have members in our LDCs who have worked tirelessly during their professional lives, often in the background never seeking the limelight, giving up many evenings for LDC business, taking valuable time out of their practising careers.
If you have someone like this on your committee who you feel deserves recognition, please consider nominating them for an Unsung Hero Award this year. Further details can be found online here and the closing date for nominations is also Friday 8 April.
SPECIAL OBSERVER PLACES – for newcomers to conference
In addition to the normal allocation of conference places each LDC is permitted to register one ‘Special LDC Observer’ place.
This is an opportunity for newcomers to immerse themselves in dental politics and hopefully launch a career-long interest. These special observer places are reserved for those who are new to dental representation or first-time conference goers.
If an LDC has someone who meets this criterion, they can be registered online selecting ‘Special LDC Observer’ as delegate type.
The LDC Conference website provides lots more advice on how to contribute.
REGISTRATION, DINNER TICKETS, TRAVEL AND HOTEL
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT
As usual the Conference is open to nominated LDC representatives and members of the BDA General Dental Practice Committee. Once LDCs have agreed who will attend to represent them delegates must register in advance for the event.
All conference places (including live-stream access) and dinner tickets should be booked online by Friday 8 April
Individual email addresses and GDC numbers are required at point of registration for all attendees.
How many people can my LDC send?
If you are unsure how many people your LDC can register for the Conference, you can check the list of permitted attendees for each LDC here.
Where an LDC is entitled to send a sole Representative, they are also permitted to send an accompanying Observer. The conference fees for this permitted Observer will be covered, however the LDC is responsible for funding dinner tickets, travel and accommodation expenses.
Plus, as highlighted earlier. in addition to the usual allocation of places we have some places reserved for Special LDC Observers – (this special ticket type must be approved by LDC Secretaries and is for those who are first time conference goers).
- closing date Friday 8 April.
CONFERENCE DINNER
The black-tie dinner will take place the evening before the conference, also in the Woodland Suite at the ICC Wales. Dinner tickets are funded for those registering as LDC Representatives and are available for £85 per person for all other attendees. Additional tickets for guests can be booked online too.
Drinks reception from 19:15 with dinner served at 19:45.
HOTEL BOOKINGS
We have allocations of bedrooms available at nearby hotels and reservations are being managed by our appointed accommodation agent MICE Concierge.
You will be prompted to book accommodation online as part of the event registration process.
Accommodation will be assigned from our rooming blocks on a first-come-first-served basis.
Please note the release date for all un-allocated bedrooms is Friday 8 April so please ensure you reserve your room before this date to guarantee availability and discounted rates.
Further information about hotel booking is available here.
TRAVEL AND EXPENSE CLAIMING
Information about travel arrangements and expense claiming can be also found on the website.
FURTHER ASSISTANCE OR QUESTIONS
If you have a question regarding your motion submission or nomination please contact Alexandra Cenic
If you require assistance regarding your registration and the logistical arrangements for the event please contact Fiona Feltham (Events Manager)
I very much look forward to welcoming you all to Newport!
Best wishes
Dan Cook
2022 LDC Conference Chair
A message from in-coming Conference Chair, Dan Cook
Hello everyone
It is a great honour to accept these chains of office. Thank you Stuart for being at the helm through this unprecedented time.
So where do we start for 2022? As I promised my Welsh friends and supporters, we plan to base next year's conference in Wales. I've worked in Newport for the past 12 years and we hope to deliver an event there; but making any firm plans at the moment is not easy as I am sure you all know first-hand.
I was one of those who pushed for Conference to continue in a digital format throughout the pandemic. I know some of you were not keen on the idea (and perhaps you are still not convinced) but I hope we have managed to bring you along with us. We, as GDPs, need more than ever to have our voices heard.
That said, the hope is to have Conference in person next year if at all possible. Like many of you, I miss the conversations over dinner and a glass of wine, and the wisdom that can be passed down over a cup of tea during the day. I do hope we can bring that back.
Rest assured I will be working alongside the Agenda Committee and our tireless staff from the BDA to do the very best we can. I can only ask for your patience over the coming months.
With kind regards
Dan
LDC Conference Chair 2022
I am delighted that the Agenda Committee and I were able to deliver the LDC Conference virtually again this year. Although I miss, as I am sure many others do, meeting face to face I was encouraged by the number of younger colleagues joining us.
I am very grateful to all our invited speakers who made such great contributions. I was particularly interested in the discussion between the English CDO, Sara Hurley, the Head of Primary Care commissioning, Ed Waller and the GDPC Chair, Shawn Charlwood. It was also informative to hear the clinical perspectives of the two deputy CDOs, Rebecca Harris and Jason Wong.
Steve Mulligan certainly put the concept of sustainable practice on our agendas. I expect this would have been a developing subject anyway but dealing with the pandemic has massively increased the amount of PPE we are using and naturally disposing. The proposers of motions got on board with the new format enthusiastically and this really made the day.
None of us will practice forever and we need to nurture new entrants into our profession, Prof Youngson helpfully highlighted the challenges facing dental undergraduates and those who teach them, and the likely way forward.
Roz McMullan highlighted the necessity of looking after ourselves and our teams at all times, but particularly during the challenges of working in the pandemic.
Details of motions passed can be found here, along with election results and Conference footage.
Those attendees eligible for CPD can retrieve their CPD certificate here.
Congratulations to the following colleagues who were elected to positions:
- Mark Green (Chair-elect)
- Peter Hodgkinson (Honorary Treasurer)
- Jonathan Randall and Alexander Bruce Porteous (Honorary Auditors)
- Agi Tarnowski (Conference Representative to the GDPC)
- Russell Gidney (Member to Conference Agenda Committee)
- Howard Jones (Member to British Dental Guild Board of Managers)
I could not have managed this year without the support and encouragement of the Agenda Committee, Dan Cook, Judith Husband, Zoe Connelly, Leah Farrell, Russell Gidney, Pete Hodgkinson. Alex Cenic who ensures we stay on the straight and narrow and Fiona Feltham whose organisational abilities are boundless. Very importantly I would like to thank all the delegates and observers who gave up their Saturday for the good of the profession.
I am pleased to hand the chain of office to Dan Cook and I know you are in good hands.
Best wishes,
Stuart Allan
LDC Conference Chair 2021
A message from in-coming Conference Chair, Dan Cook
Hello everyone
It is a great honour to accept these chains of office. Thank you Stuart for being at the helm through this unprecedented time.
So where do we start for 2022? As I promised my Welsh friends and supporters, we plan to base next year's conference in Wales. I've worked in Newport for the past 12 years and we hope to deliver an event there; but making any firm plans at the moment is not easy as I am sure you all know first-hand.
I was one of those who pushed for Conference to continue in a digital format throughout the pandemic. I know some of you were not keen on the idea (and perhaps you are still not convinced) but I hope we have managed to bring you along with us. We, as GDPs, need more than ever to have our voices heard.
That said, the hope is to have Conference in person next year if at all possible. Like many of you, I miss the conversations over dinner and a glass of wine, and the wisdom that can be passed down over a cup of tea during the day. I do hope we can bring that back.
Rest assured I will be working alongside the Agenda Committee and our tireless staff from the BDA to do the very best we can. I can only ask for your patience over the coming months.
With kind regards
Dan
LDC Conference Chair 2022