The General Dental Council (GDC) has met 16 out of 18 Standards of Good Regulation for 2023/24.
This marks the same number that were met in the 2022/23 review period.
According to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) annual review, it was found that the GDC failed to meet the standards for EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) and fitness to practise timeliness.
The report also found the regulator is ‘taking too long’ to handle fitness to practise cases. While it acknowledged that the GDC has put in place measures to improve its fitness to practise timeliness, these have not yet made sufficient improvements to the time it is taking to reach decisions in cases.
There is a slight overall reduction in the total number of older cases. However, the GDC now has more cases older than 156 weeks than at any time in the last three review periods.
‘There is a lack of emphasis on diversity in the GDC’s current standards.’
Professional Standards Authority (PSA) annual review
Speaking about EDI, the review reads: ‘There are concerns with the progress and public reporting on the GDC’s previous and current EDI strategies. There is a lack of emphasis on diversity in the GDC’s current standards, and it does not currently require education and training providers to demonstrate that they take appropriate account of diverse student needs.
‘There are gaps in the EDI training for council members and others. We have commended the GDC on its work to ensure that it seeks out and acts on the views of a diverse range of stakeholders in its policy and research work. We have also outlined a number of opportunities for improvement.’
In a release today, the GDC said its EDI vision and approach will be incorporated into its corporate strategy from 2026, to ensure that EDI is embedded within its broader strategic objectives.
The regulator also met Standard 11 for the first time in two years, improving the median processing time for UK graduate applications each quarter during the review period. The GDC has been clearing the backlog of overseas-qualified dentists who applied as dental care professionals (DCPs) prior to the route closing on 8 March 2023.
The backlog has ‘reduced significantly’, with the number of unworked DCP applications standing at 1,089 by June 2024, down from 5,700 in April 2023. The GDC also increased the number of staff and panel assessments to deal with the backlog of applications.
Build trust
Tom Whiting is chief executive of the General Dental Council (GDC). He said: ‘We welcome the PSA’s recognition of our progress across multiple areas, particularly in registration, while acknowledging there is more work to do. We remain firmly committed to improving fitness to practise processes and implementing our EDI strategy.
‘Our priority is ensuring we deliver effective regulation that protects patients and supports dental professionals. We welcome close working with partners and stakeholder organisations to build trust in effective regulation and achieve a goal that we all share, which is patient safety and public confidence in the dental professions.’
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