12 May 2010

General Dental Council to seek new Fitness to Practise panel members

The General Dental Council (GDC) is beginning work to recruit 50 new Fitness to Practise (FtP) panel members. Advertisements are due to appear in national and trade press in June to attract applications from dentists, dental care professionals and lay people.

Fitness to Practise panel members play a vital role in the GDC’s work to protect patients. The GDC has the power to take action by either removing or restricting a dental professional’s registration if they fall short of the high standards expected. The panel members will sit in public hearings and can consider cases where a registrant’s fitness to practise may be impaired due to their health, conduct or performance, as well as applications for restoration to the registers and appeals against registration decisions.  Most hearings take place in London.  

The recruitment process is being led by the GDC’s Appointments Committee. Chair Bronwen Curtis says:

“This is a really exciting opportunity and we want to give people as much time as possible to think about whether this is the right role for them. All applicants will be considered on their individual skills and experience. We especially hope to hear from dental care professionals who traditionally have been less likely to apply for this kind of role with the GDC.”

Interest can be registered by emailing csecretary@gdc-uk.org. Information will also be published on www.gdc-uk.org once the recruitment period officially opens in June.

Ends

For media enquiries, please contact Elizabeth Curtis on 0207 009 2728 or ecurtis@gdc-uk.org

Notes to editors:

• The Fitness to Practise Committee is currently made up of 75 panel members: 38 dentists, 22 lay people and 15 Dental Care Professionals (DCPs). It is a part time role, with members sitting for around 20 days a year. They are paid £353 a day and are reimbursed their expenses. 
• Panels sit on the following kinds of Committees - Interim Orders Committee, Professional Conduct Committee, Professional Performance Committee, Health Committee and Registration Appeals Committee.
• The panel hears evidence and makes findings of fact. If any allegations are proved, the Committee then decides whether the registrant is unfit to practise and what action they should take. The Committee can take a number of steps. The most serious is to take the dental professional’s name off the Register. This means they are ’struck off’ and cannot practise. A dental professional has the right of appeal.