Volume 24 - The Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in ...

2007 CONFERENCE
parties and government. More generally, politics is the
process by which groups of people make decisions.
Although a term commonly applied to civil government
behaviour, it is observed in all human group interactions,
including corporate, religious and academic institutions.
So it follows that politics consists of social relations
involving power or authority.
Sarah Higham, David Craig and Sadie Thomas
• trainer in conscious sedation
• postgraduate medical qualifications (e.g.: FRCA).
3. Experience and CPD
For entry to training in specific alternative techniques
practitioners must have:
• documented experience of the relevant intravenous or
inhalational standard techniques (at least 100 cases over
last 2 years)
• not less than 4 years’ post-registration experience in the
United Kingdom as a dental or medical practitioner.
Annex 2: Person Specification for Practice Assessor for
Alternative Conscious Sedation Services
Annex 3: Inspection Checklist for the Provision of
Alternative Conscious Services
Annex 4: Oral and Transmucosal Sedation with
Midazolam
David Craig
David is the Head of Sedation and Special Care Dentistry at
KCL Dental Institute. He is the Immediate Past President
and current Course Director for SAAD. He chaired the DwSI
in Conscious Sedation Working Group for the Department
of Health and is a member of the Standing Committee on
Sedation for Dentistry at the Faculty of Dental Surgery, RCS
Eng.
Politics in Primary Care – the Good,
the Bad and the Ugly
Dr Christopher Holden
Politics is embedded in the whole of our lives and
dentistry is no different from any other profession
or trade. We usually think of politics in terms of political
In an ideal world a patient would have needs and desires
that would be met by the clinician with options and
solutions readily provided between each party without
interference. In the real world, however, there are
many people involved in patient care, either directly
or indirectly. Even for the simplest procedure this may
involve over 50 individuals or institutions, all of whom
want power (e.g. dentist, hygienist, practice manager,
radiologist, technician, dental nurse, Royal Colleges,
universities, Health & Safety Executive, secretary and
cleaner, to name a few).
Just to practise dentistry requires compliance with many
diverse regulations, from Acts of Parliament to fire
regulations, radiation safety and NICE guidance. There
are 37 major guidance documents to which a dentist must
adhere to practise basic dentistry within the law.
Specific sedation guidance has been published copiously
since the early 1990s. Guidance has been produced by the
General Dental Council on numerous occasions, and the
Royal Colleges, the Department of Health, the Dental
Sedation Teachers Group, SAAD, the UK Academy
of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties, independent
reports and various specialist societies whose major
interest is not sedation.
It is not surprising that many practitioners are confused
or unsure where to look for current guidance or indeed
which guidance to follow. This has been reflected in cases
where practitioners have been shown to fail patients on a
regulatory level but have not been shown to be a risk to
the public themselves. That is in itself contradictory in
terms of standardisation of patient care and safety.
In simple terms there are three types of political guidance:
Acts of Parliament, devolved regulatory guidance through
the General Medical Council and the General Dental
Council and ethical guidance from within the
profession.
There are three important current documents with which
any practitioner of sedation for dentistry should start.
These are:
SAAD DIGEST | VOL.24 | JANUARY 2008 29