Whistleblowing disclosures report 2020

On 1 April 2017, a legal duty came into force which required all prescribed bodies to publish an annual report on the whistleblowing disclosures made to them by workers.

All the UK healthcare professional regulators have decided to compile this report jointly to highlight our coordinated effort in working together to address the serious issues raised with us. Our aim in this report is to be transparent about how we handle disclosures, highlight the action taken about these issues, and to improve collaboration across the health sector.

The number of disclosures we received this year increased to 116 from 75 in 2018–19. Compared to some other regulators we have received a higher number of disclosures in comparison to the size of the register. However, it is worth noting that most dentistry is provided in a primary care setting and outside the more robust clinical governance frameworks that characterise some other forms of healthcare. This may mean that alternative disclosure routes are less present in dentistry, and a larger proportion are dealt with by the regulator.

This Whistleblowing disclosures report 2020 is published jointly by the GDC with the General Chiropractic Council, General Medical Council, General Optical Council, General Osteopathic Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Health and Care Professions Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

 You can download the Whistleblowing disclosures report 2020 from our website.