The English Council exists to advise the BDA Principal Executive Committee (PEC) on all matters relating to policy in England, and to liaise with BDA’s branches and sections.
Dr Lafferty brings extensive experience of representing the profession, both locally in Yorkshire and at national level, to the role. He is a former member of the General Dental Council and both the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee and the Representative Body, and chaired the Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees in 2012.
Dr Lafferty said: ‘The BDA, and the profession it represents, face a challenging period in England. A new contract for general practice is being tested, new commissioning structures are imminent and regulation is in the spotlight. Against this backdrop of upheaval the BDA is also changing, with new representative structures coming into being and the way that members are served being reviewed.
‘In joining the BDA Councils for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the new English Council has a vital role to play in ensuring that the members it represents have a loud and effective voice. I am honoured to have been elected to Chair the Council and will do my utmost to deliver that voice.’
Dr Lafferty will be assisted by Dr Nilesh Patel, who has been elected to serve as deputy chair. Dr Patel is a dentist in Buckinghamshire and a former member of the BDA’s executive board, the body that was superseded by the new PEC earlier this year.
