Page 4 - RADC 2015

FOREWORD
Foreword
Colonel S J Creasey L/RADC, Chief Dental Of cer (Army)
Defence as a whole continues
to be subject to considerable change and the RADC has not been immune to this. The Corps has survived the recent round of redundancies with its ability to function intact and this is much to the credit of its of cers and soldiers, however, the Defence Medical Services continue to
be the subject of a number of external reviews: the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), Defence Operational Capability Assessment and the Primary and Secondary Care Footprint Review. The outcome of SDSR has been a major preoccupation for the latter part of 2015, at time of writing there is still much work to be done before we will know what the precise outcome for dentistry will be.
In the mean-time, Defence
will be subject to ef ciencies ( nancial austerity) for the next 24 months and thereafter there will be what has been referred to as ‘betterment’ for Defence. JFC, of which DPHC is a part, will receive an uplift in funding of £12.6 billion, however, the precise implications for the Defence Medical Services are not know at time of writing.
The possibility of the RADC
surviving to see it’s 100th
Anniversary was in considerable
doubt, however, the direction of
travel is for the AMS liability to
be grouped by capability rather
than function whilst retaining
separate cap badges. This will
mean little change for of cers but will allow soldiers to be managed by professional group rather than cap badge allowing broader employment and opportunity within the AMS. It will also ensure that the esprit de Corps, Regimental traditions and ethos will be maintained for each cap badge.
The recent Continuous Attitude Survey has ‘taken the temperature’ of the military and civilian dental staff in all three Services and a summary of the key points for the RADC make interesting reading. My Management Board will devote itself to addressing the concerns that it raises in order to improve the lot of RADC personnel wherever it can.
It is clear from reading this new and improved version of the RADC Journal that the members of our Corps continue to excel in many different areas, whether it be on deployment or in the Firm Base.
The Corps needs to attract, recruit and retain the very best. Those individuals will have a broad range of interests in addition to clinical dentistry. Whilst clinical dentistry must always be at the very heart
of what the RADC is about, the type of people that we attract will 2 RADC BULLETIN 2015
inevitably want to do things in addition to providing a clinical service. Whilst the majority of RADC personnel will remain in clinical delivery for the majority of their careers, they need
to make the most of what life in the Army has to offer such as assignments to Field units, sport and adventurous training.
Opportunities for Sport and Adventurous are available to Regular and Reserve members of the RADC and can be
found by looking at the AMS Corps Colonel Web page
or reading any of the Corps Journals. Whilst there is always a balance to be struck between providing clinical dentistry and participating in sport and adventure training, reading through this Journal,
I am delighted to see that a signi cant number of RADC personnel have taken part in, and particularly organised, a whole variety of activities away from the clinical coal face. Funding for these types of activity may be limited over the next two years but we have seen a number of excellent examples where individuals have overcome the nancial obstacles and I applaud the initiative of those concerned.
A small number will seek opportunities for employment in various capacities out- with the clinical care. This
is essential to developing our of cers and soldiers for senior appointments, whether or not they remain in clinical delivery. Whilst one of the SDSR themes was to ensure that clinicians are employed for as much time as possible in appointments where they are treating
patients, the Defence Medical Services require professionally quali ed of cers to move in to command and staff roles and the RADC must play its part in priming that pump.
Lastly, I would like to remind you what a truly excellent job is being done by RADC of cers and soldiers and the civilian staff whether employed in DPHC dental centres, training units, Field units or in command and staff
appointments. Army dental tness continues to improve steadily despite the considerable challenges that we have faced over the last year. I would like to offer you my sincere thanks. Dentistry is consistently the top retention factor in the Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey. You are highly regarded by the wider Defence Medical Services and most importantly by our patients. You should feel justi ably proud of your various contributions.
The Corps needs to attract, recruit and retain the very best