Reminder of indemnity requirements

The GDC changed the rules on registration in November 2015, meaning that dentists and dental care professionals now must declare that they have indemnity in place – or will have by the time they start practising.

MDDUS dental adviser, Rachael Bell, said: “This is not a new requirement as dentists have always needed to have appropriate indemnity in place to practise dentistry. The only difference now is that practitioners must complete an indemnity declaration as part of their annual renewal process.

“The GDC does not require registrants to provide an indemnity certificate unless specifically requested for further information. However, practising without appropriate indemnity in place is contrary to guidance and can result in a fitness to practise investigation.

“Practitioners who are covered by their employer should not make assumptions. It is their responsibility to check they are indemnified prior to their declaration.

“We advise practices to have a system in place to check that all staff subscriptions with bodies such as the GDC and defence organisations are renewed on time. These checks should also apply to temporary members of staff and responsibility for this should not be delegated to locum agencies. The GDC website provides a secure web portal where registrants can manage their registration, pay fees and update personal information.”