Dr Helen Phillips, Chair, General Dental Council (GDC), speaking at the Dental Leadership Network

The value of the Dental Leadership Network (DLN) 

I have really enjoyed my first DLN today – thank you for the warm welcome – it has been a pleasure to meet so many of you in person. Thank you for your warmth and for your candid insights. For those who I have not yet managed to speak with, I am Helen Phillips, I was appointed Chair of the GDC in October last year.  

Like many of us here, I have spent time in a variety of organisations and roles. Mine include 35 years in professional standards and regulation, in the health, environment, insurance and legal services sectors. 

As Chair of an NHS Trust for nine years, and now as Chair of NHS Professionals, I see the challenges of large-scale workforce planning, recruitment and retention. The imperative to wrap the team around the patient, and for all members of the team to work to the top of their licence. Not just in pursuit of access targets but in the interest of patient safety and improved patient experience. There are obvious parallels in dentistry. 

This network certainly lives up to its reputation as a place where leaders can share information, build relationships and collaborate. It’s definitely an important date in the dental calendar and I can see why Minister Kinnock took the opportunity to speak at your last meeting. Speaking of which, apologies that I missed that event which would have been my first on being appointed Chair. I had recently returned from the Middle East and I was suffering from a bad dose of Manama Malady! 

Thank you to today’s speakers  

Today’s theme has been ‘Delivering safe and effective oral health for those most in need’. 

A prescient topic – I thank the speakers and panellists for doing it justice, and everyone in the room for the thoughtful workshop discussion too. 

It is essential that we spend time thinking about those most in need – people with housing insecurity, older adults living in care homes, people living in areas with low levels of NHS dentistry, patients with physical disabilities and those who are neurodivergent. 

Rakhee set the scene so well. Matt and Harriett made the case for an evidence-led approach. Sakina’s perspective as both a dental nurse and community oral health educator was illuminating. Fiona was as persuasive as she was succinct. Eloise from the Single Homeless Project really brought to life what oral health means for people with housing insecurity. I thank the panel – Natalie, Jyoti, Nicola and John – for sharing what safe and effective oral healthcare means for special care and community dentistry.  

The strong theme continued into the afternoon, with the workshop expertly facilitated by Ben, Zain and Hazel. You reminded us, if any reminder was necessary, that patients and the public are at the heart of everything we all do.  

Thank you, speakers, panellists and facilitators, for a superb day. 

Early reflections as Chair of the GDC  

I’ll say a little about my early reflections as Chair of the GDC. It was certainly an interesting  time to join – arriving just as Council was approving our strategy for the next three years. 

I wasn’t the only new arrival to Council in October – Mike Driver and Bill Gunnyeon were appointed as lay members, both with significant experience in government and regulation. Joining an experienced Council of lay and registrant members and working with a talented and committed group of Executives, has been a real pleasure. Fellow Council colleagues, Serbjit Kaur, Simon Morrow and Laura Simons are here today. 

There is still some work to do in communicating our strategy, narrating what all the actions we have committed to delivering over the next three years will mean practically for those we serve; patients, registrants, the public – including those who have difficulty accessing dental services. Our ability to influence this wider agenda is dependent on us meeting our own targets and the expectations of the PSA as the oversight regulator, notably on fitness to practice and EDI.  

Transparency is an essential ingredient of good governance. We shall keep any Council deliberations in private to a bare minimum and we shall invite first hand testimony from our key stakeholders at Council meetings. The BDA joined us in February. Please let us know if your organisation would like to speak with Council. 

At the centre of our strategy, our vision is to be a trusted and effective regulator, supporting dental professionals to provide safe and effective care for their patients. 

Everyone here knows that no single intervention will increase the NHS dental workforce nor add capacity in regions that are currently underserved. We need to work together to tackle this. 

One of the things that motivates me is collaboration – finding ways to work together to tackle the challenges. We have a shared interest in making dentistry work across the UK, and we all have a role to play. 

I’m also motivated by supporting professions – because you put your specialised knowledge to work in the service of others. In a world that is increasingly automated, accelerated, and transactional, you remain one of the few last great face-to-face professions, where skill, compassion and judgement cannot be downloaded or outsourced. 

Professionalism in dentistry isn’t just about meeting standards; it is about holding yourselves to a purpose. It is the quiet courage of doing the right thing for the patient in front of you, the commitment to continual learning, and the pride of belonging to a community that safeguards the nation’s oral health. This is what sets you apart — not just as clinicians, but as professionals in the truest sense of the word. 

With rights, in this case to practise, come responsibilities and you should rightly be proud of the role you play in society – we at the GDC will play our part in supporting you in every way we can to deliver on your responsibilities. 

 Thank you for listening and most particularly thank you for the warm welcome I have received today. I look forward to working with each and every one of you in the years ahead.