The General Dental Council (GDC) has today launched a new system for dealing with concerns about the fitness to practise of dental professionals. The new system delivers an overhaul of the legal framework for identifying issues which need investigating and for addressing those concerns fully and fairly, and enables the GDC to protect the public more effectively.

The introduction of these new procedures marks the end of the era of “serious professional misconduct”. In all cases where concerns are raised, the focus of analysis moves away from blame and guilt, to the most important question (from the point of view of the public and the profession) of whether a registrant remains fit to practise, bearing in mind established facts about something they have done, or their professional performance, or their state of health.

The new framework is also more flexible, allowing:

• committees to put in place measures which are proportionate and risk-based, restricting registrants’ practice where necessary as far as is necessary

• more rapid and flexible action where there are urgent concerns about patient protection or about whether a dental professional’s own interests require the GDC to intervene.

Under the new system, cases may be referred to one of three practice committees for a full inquiry – the Professional Conduct, the Health or the new Professional Performance Committee. All three committees have the power to stop a dental professional from practising. They can also place temporary restrictions (known as ‘conditions’) on a dental professional’s registration, prohibiting them, for example, from working in a particular area of practice. This increased flexibility will make it easier for the GDC and its committees to take more fully into account all the individual circumstances of the case and the registrant. The committees will also have greater scope to recognise society’s legitimate interest in retaining the services of competent professionals, where public safety can be assured without striking off or suspending a dental professional.

The practice committees will use the civil standard of proof (balance of probabilties) rather than the criminal standard of proof (beyond all reasonable doubt) to judge the truth of the facts in their inquiries. The GDC’s purpose is to protect patients not to punish professionals. The introduction of the civil standard of proof is consistent with the purpose and philosophy of fitness to practise procedures, and the abolition of the outdated punitive-sounding “serious professional misconduct”. In all kinds of case, at all stages, the new procedures contain safeguards to ensure fairness and to protect the human rights of all involved, including patients and professionals.

Welcoming the launch of the new system, GDC President Hew Mathewson said:

“An essential part of our work to protect patients is taking action when there are concerns about a dental professional’s skills, conduct or health. We know the overwhelming majority of dental professionals are competent and caring people, deserving of the trust their patients put in them, but we need to be able to step in when there are problems. We have reviewed our entire fitness to practise system to ensure we have the right tools for the job. Our new procedures allow us to act swiftly and fairly. They also give us the measures to help dental professionals rehabilitate and return to practise where that is safe and appropriate. “

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Notes to Editors:

1. Further information about the new GDC fitness to practise system can be found on this website.

2. The GDC consulted on its proposals for the new system at various stages. Most recently, the GDC sought views on the final framework earlier this year.

3. The new rules aim to strike a balance between individuals’ rights to privacy, the need for public accountability, and registrants’ rights to a fair hearing (which, in legal terms, means a public hearing). Practice committee hearings will be held in public, in principle, with scope for committees to exclude the public where this is necessary in order to achieve the right balance between these rights.

4. Membership of all three practice committees (conduct, health and performance) and the Interim Orders Committee will be drawn from the GDC’s Fitness to Practise Panel - an independent pool of dental professionals and members of the public who are not GDC members.

5. The new fitness to practise system is supported by a series of guidance documents which aim to promote consistency and clarity in decision-making and to help the public and professionals understand why and how decisions about dental professionals’ fitness to practise have been made. The guidance documents are available from the publications area of this website.