The General Dental Council (GDC) has met 16 out of 18 Standards of Good Regulation for 2023/24, according to the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) annual review.

The regulator made significant improvements to achieve the standards in registration, however it did not meet the standards for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and fitness to practise (FtP) timeliness.

The review revealed that the GDC reduced the backlog of overseas-qualified dentists who applied as dental care professionals (DCPs). The backlog of unworked DCP applications which stood at 5,700 in April 2023 following a change in legislation has now been cleared, with all remaining applications scheduled to undertake a panel assessment by April 2025.

Key achievements highlighted in the review include:

  • A reduction in the average processing time for UK graduate registration to two weeks
  • Enhanced support systems for those involved in FtP cases
  • Strengthened stakeholder engagement and consultation processes

Tom Whiting, chief executive of the GDC, 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 FtP 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.”

The FtP process

The PSA commended the GDC's work in seeking and acting on feedback from diverse stakeholder groups and its commitment to evidence-based policy development. It also recognised the regulator’s efforts to improve communication with registrants during FtP investigations, noting positive feedback about the more empathetic tone and improved signposting to support services.

However, the review identified ongoing challenges in the timeliness of FtP cases, particularly in cases older than 156 weeks. With only nine cases older than 101 weeks, the GDC continues to reduce the number of older cases, which is more effective in FtP stages where the regulator can exert greater influence over timeliness.

The GDC has revised its FtP processes to improve timeliness when investigating single patient clinical practice concerns. The move follows the successful pilot of revised processes for handling fitness to practise concerns raised about dental professionals with no allegations of impaired fitness to practise in the previous 12 months.

The regulator said it has plans in place to further enhance communication and support for those involved in FtP cases, as well as reviewing its decision-making guidance to ensure that it addresses allegations of discriminatory conduct.

Raj Rattan, dental director at Dental Protection, said, “The PSA’s report acknowledges that the GDC have made progress in some areas. We have previously stated strong concerns about the impact that communications from the GDC have on those under investigation. The PSA are right to highlight the work the GDC have done to improve their template letters and in training its staff on the tone of voice they use.

“The fact remains however that the regulator is failing to meet a key standard set by the PSA in relation to FtP because it continues to take too long to deal with FtP cases. This is not acceptable.

“Our research shows that the damaging toll lengthy GDC investigations have had on dental professionals, with more than four in five citing the duration of their GDC investigation as having the most impact on their mental health, and more than a quarter saying they experienced suicidal thoughts during the investigation process.”

EDI standards

The GDC said it has recognised the PSA’s concerns that it needs to provide clearer visibility of the work underway to deliver the current EDI strategy and has published an update on the strategy that shows progress and areas where it needs to do more.

The GDC has 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.

Raj concluded, “We will continue to work constructively with the GDC to see how they can make further improvements, and we hope that the next PSA report will be able report on further progress. We will also continue to lobby the government to reform the Dentists Act so the GDC can be given greater discretion to not take forward investigations where allegations clearly do not require action.”

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