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Is The GDC Fit To Practise

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The General Dental Council (GDC) has been heavily criticised in recent years about the way in which it deals with fitness to practise cases. Details of its failings have been set out in the last three audits carried out by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE), which has responsibility for overseeing the work of certain healthcare regulators, such as the GDC. In response to the well publicised concerns about the GDC, the CHRE is currently carrying out a further investigation in to whether the GDC is failing to satisfy its statutory functions; at the request of the Department of Health.

The Investigating Committee

One of the areas of concern, identified in the CHRE's most recent audit published in September 2011, is the consideration of complaints by the GDC's Investigating Committee (IC). The IC is a statutory committee. This means that its existence, role and powers are enshrined in legislation. Its purpose is to consider complaints made to the GDC, and which are considered by the GDC's registrar to constitute an allegation. The IC's role is to decide whether the allegation ought to be referred on to one of the GDC's three Practice Committees (the Health Committee; the Professional Conduct Committee and the Professional Performance Committee). The IC does not decide whether the allegations are true. Instead, it must consider whether there is a realistic prospect of a Practice Committee deciding that the allegations are true and that, as a result, the fitness to practise of the practitioner is impaired.

The IC meets in private to consider allegations; neither the complainant nor the practitioner, attends the meeting. The IC generally comprises five members, including dentists and lay members, and usually has access to representations from both the GDC and the person being investigated. The ICs powers include:

taking no further action adjourning the meeting and ask the GDC to carry out further investigations closing the matter, but giving a letter of advice closing the matter, but giving the person complained of a warning referring the matter for consideration by one of the Practice Committees If the IC decides that the allegations should be referred to one of the Practice Committees for a full hearing, it can also refer the case for consideration of whether an interim order (such as suspension) is necessary pending the final outcome of the case.

Criticisms of the Investigating Committee

In June 2011 the CHRE carried out an...

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