Government Decision – Modernising Regulatory Frameworks

The government have made the decision not to include the General Dental Council in their ‘commitment’ to modernise regulatory frameworks.

The ministerial statement pressed ahead with plans to modernise the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professional Council enabling faster, more flexible, and less adversarial processes and increase efficiency; all of which are prevalent in the GDC.  

The lengthy GDC investigative process has a significant impact on registrants’ mental health, which in turn puts a strain on the NHS, so any steps to modernise the GDC would be a welcome breathe of fresh air for dental professionals who are fearful of the draconian approach by the GDC. 

Further fuel to fire is the fact that on 23 April the GDC published its CCP (Costed Corporate Plan) for the next 3 years which aims to :-

1. Revise the standards for education

2. Revise the international registration process

1.9 Address sexual misconduct in the context of professionalism 

2.1 Revise fitness to practise decision making guidance 

4.5 Improving communications and support in fitness to practise 

4.11Case management and operations improvements in dental hearings 

The cost of these revisions totals £141.4 million, a 0.9% increase of the agreed budget of £140.2 million.    

According to the regulator, the increase is due to changes in national insurance threshold and rates.   This cannot be the case as the changes to national insurance threshold and rates was announced after the CCP was agreed in October 2024. 

This goes to highlight the desperate need for legislative reform to improve regulation in dentistry.