Independent qualitative research, commissioned by the General Dental Council (GDC) to understand and learn from the experiences of 70 individuals involved with fitness to practise, was published on November 30, 2022. The research, which looked at historical cases dating from 2015 – 2021, found that although outcomes were seen as largely fair and effective, there were often significant negative impacts reported on the mental health and wellbeing of participants and, as a result, this could have unintended consequences for professional behaviour and practice.
The GDC’s primary purpose is patient safety and one of the ways it fulfils this is by investigating the concerns it receives about the practise, conduct, or health of dental professionals. Investigations are often complex and, as a result, can take a long time. By its nature, the process can be difficult.
Much of this process is set by outdated and rigid legislation and, although the government has made commitments to reform, there is little prospect of change to the legal framework taking effect for some years to come. In the absence of that reform, the GDC is continuing its work to make changes within its existing legislation, and to address some of the issues identified by this research.
John Cullinane, GDC executive director, fitness to practise said, “We know that fitness to practise investigations can be stressful and that many take too long to resolve, with some becoming complex and adversarial. Much in this report reinforces our view on where improvements are needed, and its findings have confirmed our thinking on the best way to go about effecting that change.
“This work will be challenging, but improvements have already been made. For instance, by always encouraging local complaint resolution, we’ve seen a reduction of almost 1,200 concerns being brought to us in the six years to 2021. We increased the capacity in our casework team at the beginning of the year and are now starting to see the benefits of that change, and earlier this year we launched the Dental Professionals Hearings Service to highlight the independence of panels and hearings from the GDC.
“Only reform of our legislation can bring the kind of wholesale change which is so clearly needed. But, in its absence, if we are to continue improving fitness to practise, we must go on making repeated incremental changes to improve the process and experiences of those involved, and this is very much our plan.”
Commenting on the research, Stephen Henderson, head of dental at MDDUS said, "MDDUS is keenly aware from our own advice and support services how overwhelming fitness to practise investigations can be for dentists and dental care professionals. They often take far too long to resolve and can lead to individuals feeling distressed, disengaged or leaving the profession altogether.
"That’s why, in addition to the professional, legal and pastoral support from our expert dental and legal staff, we also provide a free, independent and confidential emotional well-being service called Your Halo to all our members.
"We acknowledge the GDC's commitment to continue to improve how fitness to practise investigations are managed. Our dentist members and their teams are dedicated, highly skilled professionals, and it is vital that they receive fair and timely treatment by the GDC as well as the support they need to deliver a high standard of care to their patients.
"This ‘lived experience’ research describes many of the concerns reported to us by our members going through fitness to practise investigations and demonstrates how the need for reform could not be more pressing. We call on the UK government to act swiftly to ensure the regulatory framework is fit for purpose and fairer for clinicians and patients alike."
The full research report, and further information from John Cullinane, are available on the GDC’s website.