Dental Protection has welcomed the commitment by the General Dental Council (GDC) to conduct research into the number of deaths by those involved in fitness to practise proceedings and to publish their findings.
In a blog post Reporting the cause of death of registrants who have died while under fitness to practise investigation published yesterday, the GDC said that it plans to develop an accurate picture of the prevalence of suicide while a fitness to practise case is active, drawing on the work the General Medical Council has undertaken to gather and publish similar data for medical registrants. The first report of this kind will cover the period 2019 – 2021 and will be published by the GDC before June 2023.
The GDC also highlighted the importance of making “changes which aim to avoid or minimise unnecessary stress and to help ensure that people have the support they need and committed to “reviewing the mental health and wellbeing signposting that is offered to all participants as well as the training and support we offer to our own team”.
Dr Raj Rattan, Dental Director at Dental Protection, said:
“We called on the GDC to draw inspiration from the positive steps taken by the GMC with regard to reporting the number of doctor suicides during the investigation process, and we are pleased that the GDC has committed to these positive steps.
“We also welcome the renewed commitment to minimising the impact that investigations have on the mental health and wellbeing of the registrants involved, including by improving the tone of their fitness to practise communications.
“Dental Protection supports dental professionals from the moment a GDC complaint is received, to its conclusion at a hearing. GDC investigations are lengthy and stressful for the dental professional and there are always concerns about the impact of investigations on professional careers and wellbeing.”
Dental Protection members benefit from our confidential counselling service. Find out more at: Counselling service for members - confidential and 24/7 (medicalprotection.org)
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For further information contact: [email protected] T: +44 (0)7773 598474.
About Dental Protection
Dental Protection is a registered trademark and a trading name of The Medical Protection Society Limited (“MPS”). MPS is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world. Membership provides access to expert advice and support and can also provide, depending on the type of membership required, the right to request indemnity for any complaints or claims arising from professional practice.
Our in-house experts assist with the wide range of legal and ethical problems that arise from professional practice. This can include clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries.
Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our workshops, E-learning, clinical risk assessments, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations.
MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.