Seven Secretaries of State and health ministers in six years. That’s the record Eddie Crouch has had to work with as Chair of the British Dental Association’s Principal Executive Committee, the elected leader of the trade union and professional association representing dentists across the UK.
In his first appearance on The Probe Dental Podcast, Eddie talks about his background and his role at the BDA, then turns to the cost of constant churn at the top of government. What happens to policy continuity when the person across the table keeps changing? Which relationships have had to be rebuilt from scratch? Has any dental policy made it from announcement to delivery intact, or has everything of substance been restarted, rebranded or quietly dropped with each reshuffle?
We also ask how the BDA runs long-term campaigns on UDA reform, contract renegotiation and workforce when it can’t count on a minister still being in post by the time a policy lands. We look at how that instability reaches dentists on the ground, in recruitment, morale and NHS commitment, and how it compares with the damage done by the underlying funding and contract problems.
Finally, Eddie gives his view on whether dentistry might now get sustained ministerial attention, or whether the BDA is planning for the pattern to repeat.
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For more from the BDA, visit https://www.bda.org/
