Sir, please find below a copy of the email that I sent to the CDO on 13 July 2005. To date I have received neither a reply or even an acknowledgement. I hope that publication in a prestigious journal like yours will bring to light the acute mental distress that I and many others in India were made to suffer.

Letter to the CDO, DOH dated 13 July 2005

Sir, I am a 42-year-old dentist and have been a private GDP since January 1987. This means that it is more than 20 years since I read textbooks in any intensive way for a prolonged period of time. When I learnt in December 2004 that the IQE 'A' exam was being held in India for the first time, I was still hesitant about appearing for it because of the high cost of the exam as well as doubts about my chances of success. I made the final decision to appear for the IQE with not a little trepidation. The one factor which swung the decision was the prospect of Clinical Attachment positions that were to be offered to successful candidates of IQE 'A' who sat the exam in India. I was confident that if I cleared the exam, I would be offered the support of the Clinical Attachment Scheme while I appeared for Parts 'B' and 'C' of the IQE. As soon as I found out about my successful result, you cannot imagine the euphoria that I experienced. I was certain that the most difficult first step towards my joining the NHS was taken. I little expected the agonies of uncertainty and delay that most of us Indian candidates are now being subjected to. I have already asked for a postponement of my IQE 'B' date once in June, and I will most probably have to do so again as I have to give a reply to the GDC exam council by 19 July regarding acceptance or postponement of my Sept 20 IQE 'B' exam seat offer by GDC. We were led to believe that the Department of Health would pay for the Part 'B' exam once we joined the Clinical Attachment scheme, but now that there is a fog of uncertainty over the whole scheme, I dare not accept the IQE 'B' exam offer as I have no assurance from you that I will be placed in the scheme before 20 Sep 2005. I, like many other candidates from India, am not in a position to appear for the IQE 'B' and 'C' without the support of the Clinical Attachment Scheme. I would appreciate it if you or somebody else in a responsible position would explain the exact status of the scheme and the reasons for this unconscionable delay which is causing me and many others quite a lot of mental distress.

Chief Dental Officer Professor Raman Bedi responds: The Department did not guarantee at the time IQE Part A was held in India that all candidates would be offered places on the clinical attachment scheme. We have since offered dentists who took IQE Part A reimbursement of their Part B fees, whether or not they have been placed in the clinical attachment scheme. The provision of IQE Part A in India, the further support for Indian candidates and the additional sittings of IQE in the UK have significantly widened access to NHS dentistry for Indian dentists.