The report has shown that there were 20 deaths of registrants between 2019 to 2022 of which between one and three were confirmed as by suicide.
John Makin, head of the Dental Defence Union (DDU), said, “DDU members tell us that undergoing a GDC investigation is one of the most difficult experiences of their professional lives. The stress of being under scrutiny is unsettling for anyone but it is particularly traumatic for dental professionals who have to face a lengthy and potentially career-limiting process.
“We welcome the steps the GDC has taken, as detailed in the report, to lessen the impact of its investigations but we continue to maintain that more must be done. We must reduce delays in investigations. One death of a colleague due to the stress of a fitness to practise investigation is a death too many. We must all play our part in supporting colleagues with the strains of practice.”
He continued, “The GDC has been able to make limited reforms to improve its fitness to practise procedures, such as piloting the use of initial inquiries and improved training for its staff. However, it is constrained by outdated legislation when it comes to making the process fast, fair and non-adversarial.
“We are still waiting for legislation to see the light of day for the reform of dental regulation. For every week that passes, there will be more dental professionals having to deal with an unnecessarily lengthy and damaging investigation. The welfare of dental professionals must be a priority for the government.”
The Medical Defence Union (MDU), the parent company of the DDU, has urged the government to prioritise regulatory reform as part of an ‘Agenda for Change’.
A spokesperson for the GDC said, “We stand with the DDU in highlighting outdated legislation as an obstacle to effective regulation, and call on the government to make the welfare of dental professionals a priority in reform.
“Minimising the negative impacts of investigations on dental professionals is our priority, and the improvements we have made and will make to the fitness to practise process are helping. But, outdated legislation is hindering the ability to make the process faster, fairer, and non-adversarial.
“We urge everyone in the dental sector to work together and reflect on the stresses caused by the environment, systems and processes in which we work and pause to consider how we must all respond to that.”