Safeguarding the vulnerable is key
After more than a decade of campaigning, Glasgow Professor Richard Welbury has welcomed the GDC’s decision to recognise the reporting of abuse or neglect of children and vulnerable people as a core CPD topic
Speaking at a press conference during the 25th Congress of the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) at the SECC in Glasgow recently, Professor Welbury said that safeguarding children and young people has become a significant element of the work of paediatric dentists.
He said: “We have actually been asking the General Dental Council since 2004 for this to happen, so we are very grateful that it has now actually happened.
“It is an increasing part of my work as a paediatric dentist – having to get in touch with children’s services to talk to social workers. It is a significant part of our work now and I am very relieved that it is been recognised by the GDC.”
Prof Welbury chaired the recent IAPD congress that saw more than 1,600 delegates from over 60 countries attend. IAPD president Jorge Castillo hailed the conference, which had the theme ‘The Voice of the Child’, as “the greatest congress by the IAPD ever”.
Prof Welbury also remarked that the congress was unique in its approach. He said: “It is quite innovative in that I am not aware of any previous paediatric conference that has included a holistic view of the child before. Usually, dental conferences have been related to dental materials or dental traumatology, but never with a total holistic view, which the Voice of the Child gives us.”
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