The General Dental Council (GDC) has published its 2024 annual report on whistleblowing disclosures in dentistry.
From 01 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 the GDC received 79 disclosures of information. This compares to 82 in the previous year.
Regulatory action was taken in 64 of the incidences (81%), namely the opening of a fitness to practise case. No action was taken in the remaining 15 due to a lack of information.
In the opened cases, it could lead to a range of resolving actions determined by a statutory practice committee, says the GDC. These include removal (erasure) from the register, suspension from the register, conditions for a determined period, or the conclusion that fitness to practise is not impaired and the case can be closed, with no further action.
Blue-on-blue referrals in dentistry
Of the 79 whistleblowing concerns the regulator received:
- Around 37 are at still at the assessment stage
- Some 15 have been referred to case examiners
- And 27 have been closed with no further action.
The GDC says 37 of the concerns were received from dental professionals, 22 were from non-registrants (who were employed in dentistry) and 20 were anonymous.
In addition, of the whistleblowing concerns received during this reporting period, the GDC identified that conduct concerns were raised in 39 of the 79 disclosures made to the GDC. It defines conduct concerns as those that relate to matters around dental professionals’ behaviour, either inside or outside the workplace.
The report highlights that, relative to other healthcare regulators, the GDC received a higher proportion of disclosures in relation to the size of our register. The regulator said: ‘This is because most dentistry is provided in a primary care setting and outside the more robust clinical governance frameworks that characterise some other forms of healthcare and may mean that alternative disclosure routes are less present in dentistry.’
‘Self identify’ as a whistleblower
Work is currently ongoing within the GDC to amend its initial concern reporting webform to allow individuals raising concerns to self-identify as whistleblowers.
It added that none of the disclosures have resulted in resolution via employer(s). It said this is largely because either it did not have jurisdiction to consider this option or because the nature of the disclosures made them unsuitable for resolution in this way.
The ‘Whistleblowing disclosures report 2024’ is published by the GDC jointly with the General Chiropractic Council, General Medical Council, General Optical Council, General Osteopathic Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Social Work England.
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