The CQC....... AGAIN!

Hello again
As you may be aware, the CQC will soon descend upon us. Unfortunately for you lot, I have a small problem with the CQC. Whilst I admire the idea logic behind protecting the public, the CQC in my eyes is not about protection, Quangos never are. It is about increasing the power of government and those connected to government, whilst tightening the regulatory noose around the neck of the profession even further. I say government, I doubt those we elected actually know what is going on. The wheels of the civil service are just rolling on from the last administration regardless. I would like to think that the present administration would stop this juggernaut in its tracks if it new the truth.

You have to remember, this isn’t just us this is happening to. Virtually every industry is having regulation after regulation dumped on it from a great height. And I don’t even blame the CQC. From where I’m standing, they are as much a victim as anyone here. They have been tasked with something they are ill prepared for, and have little in the way of understanding about what dentistry actually entails, non of which is their fault. Much of the problems that will arise will do so because they don’t understand what it is exactly that we do, but the registration rolls out regardless. They, in their eyes, have a job to do and the growing aggression and resentment from the profession will only harden their stance. And they haven’t even gotten to the doctors yet.

However, with that being said, there is something you have to remember. The government doesn’t care about you, it only cares about itself. It only cares about feathering it’s own nest and about justifying itself by exerting more and more control to counter perceived threats.  This is the way of all governments, it is to be expected.

And despite my mention of growing aggression from the profession, really most of us do nothing. We bend over and take it. Some of even ask for more.

But let us for a moment look at the big picture. There are 600 people who are signed up to my newsletter, most of them being dentists. And I am talking to you all when I ask the following question, as well as the growing following of my blog.

What kind of a country do you want your children to grow up in?

Do you want a country where they are free to speak their minds, to express their ideas, to go about their business with the minimum hassle from government pen pushers and their lackeys? Or do you want them tagged, monitored, cowed and conformative, where they dread the day agents of the state knock on their door and say “Citizen, your papers please”?

Which do you want?

Because now it’s time to choose. Yes that’s right, you have a choice in the matter. You can bow down to the CQC and let them descend upon you twice a year like locusts, or you can tell them NOW that their regulation is not needed. You can let them know what you think, they are after all inviting you to do this. So have you? Have you been to their website and told them what you think, given them your ideas?

So here is a proposed action plan:

• Write to your MP and tell him/her that the CQC is unwanted, dangerous to the public and an unnecessary burden
• Contact Tony Jacobs at http://www.gdpuk.com/ who wants a list of names to go along with a letter to the editor of one of the big newspapers.
• Read the Health and Social Care Act 2008
• Take their issued guidance and ask for them to send you a copy in a form of English you can understand. It is incomprehensible.
• Research what they are proposing. Does it breach anti competition rules? Does it breach the EU human rights legislation?
• Write to the head of the CQC and tell them that much of their proposed regulations are already covered by our existing regulator the GDC. Ask for clarification on whatever points you do not like.
• Write the GDC and tell them the same.
• Go onto the CQC website and engage them in their consultations.
• Go to the upcoming meetings and ask the CQC representatives questions.
• Write to the newspapers, to Private Eye, and let them know that the CQC are a risk to the public and will reduce access to dentistry.
• Write to the BDA and insist they do more to counter the CQC or you will cancel your membership

Or you can sit on your hands, and moan into your beer in a years time

And now here is your warning. The proposed actions, if done as an individual will put a big spotlight on you, and you do them at your own risk (see the disclaimer below). You will be noticed. Files may well be opened on you, and you may come under scrutiny. You may even go to the first in the line when it comes to inspections and investigation. Men in overcoats and hats may follow you down the street when you pop for a chip butty (ok, ok, that won’t happen). Who can say? What I can say is that sitting on your hands doing nothing is the safer, and easier option..... at least for you, at least initially.

But what about your children? What about ten years from now when there are two more regulatory bodies just as damaging, just as unwarranted and just as expensive? When the regulation affects other aspects of your life and the life of those around you.

“Oh come off it Steve, the CQC are hardly the Stasi”.

No they aren’t. Many of the people working there are decent, honest individuals who are just trying to make their way through life (as evidenced by the low satisfaction ratings people have with working for the CQC). They are not the Stasi, the KGB or the CIA. They are, to some, a symbol.

A symbol?

A symbol of what this country has become. A symbol of where this country is going. It is a symbol of where you as an individual can make a stand, now, in this instant. A stand for yourself, a stand for those around you, a stand for your children. As an individual your stand will feel meaningless, an ant against a Lion.

But together, your voices will be heard, and the Lion will run. You will be able to shout from the rooftops and hear the quivering of those in power. They do not care if you stand alone. They do mind if you stand on masse, if you shine a spotlight on the darkness of their proposals.

Together we can bring some sanity to this and send a message that this tightening of the noose stops NOW. You send a message that you have had ENOUGH. Yes the CQC might get through, but at the very least your legal, non-violent rebellion will instigate concessions, and give them pause. It will make them think “if this is the rejection we get from the dentists............”

Now some of you won’t see what all the fuss is about. Some of you won’t have a problem with the CQC or what they represent. Some of you may even see it as a good thing. Perhaps it is, who am I to say otherwise?

And you know what, I have no challenge with that. If that is your belief then I respect it.

If however you feel in your heart what i feel, if you see with your eyes what I see, then how can you roll onto your back and expose your belly? How can you look yourself in the mirror knowing what you know?

Fear is no longer an excuse. Fear is their weapon, their power, but only if you let fear control you. The choice is yours. You have a moral right, no a moral duty to act with your beliefs. What does you heart say? Find out and act accordingly.

Just keep it polite, civil and legal.  That's not too hard to ask now is it.

Yours in commerce

Stephen: Hudson the authorised representative for the legal fiction Dr Stephen Hudson BDS, MFGDP, DRDP

Please help support the Sick Dentist Scheme and the BDA Benevolent fund by buying my book at Choose Your Reality. A proportion of the profits from its sale are split equally between these two charities

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Disclaimer: S.Hudson or SNH Publications will not be held liable for any actions taken based on the information provided in this newsletters. This information is for entertainment only.