GDC - About us - How we work - Investigating Committee

> > > Investigating Committee

The Investigating Committee (IC), a statutory Committee of Council, considers allegations of impaired fitness to practise and decides whether to refer the case to one of the three Practice Committees for a full inquiry.

The Practice Committees are:

The IC has a number of sanctions available to it. These are:

to close the case and take no futher action
to adjourn the case for further information
to issue a letter of advice to the registrant
to issue a warning letter to the registrant
to issue a warning letter to the registrant and direct that the letter should be published on the GDC website
refer the case to one of the three Practice Committees for a full inquiry.

In addition to these sanctions, the IC may also issue a letter of advice to a third party.

When the IC decides there should be an inquiry, they can, if necessary, refer the registrant to the Interim Orders Committee until the inquiry has been held.

The rules governing the procedure of the Investigating Committee are the General Dental Council (Fitness to Practice) Rules Order of Council 2006.

The IC meets in private and is made up of up to five experienced and trained members (either DCP or dentist) who are drawn from a independently appointed pool of 25 members (both Lay and Registrant).

The quorum of meetings is three, one of whom must be a lay member and one of whom must be a dental member.

Email: vdarragh@gdc-uk.org Secretary to the Investigating Committee.