The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has indicated it plans to consult on Overseas Registration Examination (ORE) changes early 2022.

We previously reported on the ORE: “A flawed system made worse by the pandemic”.  There is currently a rule in place that says ORE Part 2 must be passed within five years of first attempting Part 1 but due to the Covid pandemic, many overseas qualified dentist were not able to sit Part 2.

Stefan Czerniawski, GDC’s Executive Director for Strategy, previously said:

“The obvious solution would be to relax the five-year rule to take account of the extraordinary situation caused by the Covid pandemic – but the rule is written into legislation in a way which gives us no discretion at all, so we simply cannot legally do that. Instead, we have been discussing with the DHSC changes to the law which remove the barrier to taking Part 2 where the delay is a result of the pandemic. We are optimistic that that will lead to a solution, but until the necessary legal changes are made, candidates will not be able to sit the Part 2 exam if they have reached the five-year limit.  

Now Lord Toby Harris GDC Lay Council Chair said:

“We are unable to exercise any discretion or change the law ourselves, but it is very encouraging that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has indicated that it plans to consult upon changes to that part of our legislation in early 2022. This could provide candidates with additional time to take the Part 2 assessment in future. We are optimistic that it will lead to a solution and the GDC will continue to keep candidates updated with further information when it’s available.

 

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