General Dental Council’s deadly sins

The General Dental Council’s 2020 fitness to practise statistical report has been published and Dentists are expected to reflect on these to “make positive changes” to practice and dental services by “reflecting on the insights and trends identified from the fitness to practise process.”

General Dental Council’s Fitness to Practise process – A Brief Overview

GDC’s “fit to practise” means a Dentist must have “the appropriate skills, knowledge, character and health to practise their profession safely and effectively.”  This includes any actions they may have taken which affect public confidence in dental professionals and their regulation.

The GDC says it will investigate:

• serious or repeated mistakes in clinical care;
• failure to examine a patient properly, to secure a patient’s informed consent before treatment, keep satisfactory records, or to respond reasonably to a patient’s needs;
• not having professional indemnity insurance;
• cross infection issues;
• serious breaches of a patient’s confidentiality;
• indications of criminal offences; and/or
• poor health or a medical condition that significantly affects the registrant’s ability to treat patients safely.

If a Dentist’s fitness to practise is found to be impaired, the GDC or a fitness to practise panel may decide to:

• take no action;
• issue a reprimand;
• place conditions on registration;
• suspend registration; or
• remove an individual from the register.

At any stage in the fitness to practise process, the GDC can may apply for an interim order.

The GDC’s 10 deadly sins

The General Dental Council’s 2020 fitness to practise statistical report shows that the top allegations or charges (also referred to as “considerations”), raised against a registrant’s fitness to practise within a case or hearing, were:

1. Failure to provide good quality care

At number one with 211 considerations is complaints and allegations relating to failure to provide good quality care. 

What you should know

The report does not go into specific details and this is a broad category that encompass a range of issues.  Providing good quality care covers many aspects of the GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team that Dentists and other registered dental professionals should read and understand.

2. Personal behaviour

At number two with 110 considerations is issues relating to personal behaviour. 

What you should know

The GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team states (principle 9) that dental professionals must make sure their personal behaviour maintains patients’ confidence in you and the dental profession.  This relates to conduct at work and away from work including professional boundaries, treating colleagues, patients and members of the public fairly, with respect and not publishing anything that might undermine this or confidence in the dental profession. 

3. Patient records

At number 3 is complaints and allegations relating to record keeping with 80 considerations. 

What you should know

Record keeping is covered in principle 4 of the Standards for the Dental Team – you must maintain and protect patients’ information and this includes making and keeping contemporaneous, complete and accurate patient records and maintain confidentiality. 

4. Protecting patients from risks

At number four, with 76 considerations, is complaints relating to failure to protect patients from risk. 

What you should know

Like failure to provide good quality care, protecting patients from risks is a broad category that the report does not go into more details about.  Dental professionals are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team. 

5. Laws and regulations

At number 5, is complaints generally relating to compliance with laws and regulations with 46 considerations. 

What you should know

The Standards for the Dental Team, standard 1.5 states: “You must find out about the laws and regulations which apply to your clinical practice, your premises and your obligations as an employer, and you must follow them at all times. This will include (but is not limited to) legislation relating to:

• the disposal of clinical and other hazardous waste
• radiography
• health and safety
• decontamination
• medical devices.

6. Not communicating effectively

Number six is complaints relating to poor communication with 45 considerations.

What you should know

Effective communication is covered by principle 2 of the Standards for the Dental Team.  You must “communicate effectively with patients – listen to them, give them time to consider information and take their individual views and communication needs into account.”  This includes recognising and promote patients’ rights and giving patients the right information. 

7. Failure to obtain valid consent

At number 7 is failure to obtain valid consent with 41 considerations. 

What you should know

Principle 3 of the Standards for the Dental Team deals with consent.  You must obtain valid consent before starting treatment, explaining all the relevant options and the possible costs.

8. Not acting honestly and fairly

At number eight with 33 considerations is complaints of dental professionals not acting honestly and treating patients fairly. 

What you should know

Principle 1.3 of the Standards for the Dental Team says: “You must justify the trust that patients, the public and your colleagues place in you by always acting honestly and fairly in your dealings with them.”  

This includes not bringing the profession into disrepute and make sure that any advertising, promotional material or other information that you produce is accurate. 

9. Conviction

Second to last with 28 considerations is convictions. 

What you should know

Convictions are viewed with particular seriousness.  Under principle 9.3, you must inform the GDC immediately if you are subject to any criminal proceedings anywhere in the world. 

Fitness to practise learning

The GDC expects Dentists and other dental professionals to reflect on reports such its annual fitness to practise report in order to make positive changes to their practice and dental services.

As far as the GDC is concerned, these reports are “learning tools” designed to help Dentists and other dental professionals understand the types of fitness to practise concerns raised and the different issues represented.

Are you at particular risk of a GDC referral?

The GDC’s latest fitness to practise statistical report also provides some insight on dental professionals that are most at risk of complaints and referrals. 

Statistically, Dentists and other dental professionals from London and the South East were subject to the most number of concerns received in 2020 accounting for 38% of the total amounts of GDC complaints in 2020.

Things will go wrong, and we are here when you need us

Kings View has been advising and representing doctors for many years, and we know that despite the best efforts of healthcare professionals, some things do go wrong.  Through our experience, we know that the circumstances that leads to things going wrong are never straightforward.

It is a well-established fact that healthcare professionals who seek legal advice and representation at an early stage in any fitness to practise process, generally, receive better outcomes and lesser sanctions, if any.  We can advise on the right strategy to take and represent you before a fitness to practise hearing.

Kings View are public access barristers, meaning that you can instruct us directly without having the additional expense of hiring a solicitor first (so we are generally at least one third cheaper).

You can speak to us today for a free, no obligation assessment of your case.