A Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) found Mark Roberts guilty of 21 charges at a hearing on Friday 20th October. The charges included reusing equipment that should have been disposed after use, including single use local anaesthetic cartridges, single use endodontic files and a syringe. Other cross-infection control failings included not routinely changing his gloves and mask between patients and failing to ensure dental instruments and equipment were adequately cleaned. It was also proven that Mr Roberts failed to ensure that emergency drugs at his practice were in date and that clinical waste was appropriately disposed of. The PCC also found that 12 patients were affected by Mr Roberts’ inadequate standard of care and record keeping.
Mr Roberts did not attend and was not represented, but was given the opportunity to consider the facts levelled against him. He submitted a statement outlining that he referred to his failings as “occasional poor practice” and stated that “no patient had come to any harm”.
The Chair of the PCC said, “The Committee considers that the myriad of serious and persistent failings found in Mr Roberts’ practice of dentistry, his apparent disregard for patient safety in practising in this manner for a considerable period and a demonstrable lack of awareness on his part, make his conduct fundamentally incompatible with being a dental professional.”
Mr Roberts will no longer be able to practise dentistry in the United Kingdom, with immediate effect.
Jonathan Green, Executive Director, fitness to practise, at the General Dental Council, said, “The General Dental Council’s role is to protect patients and help to ensure the public has confidence in dental services. One of the ways we do this is by regulating dental professionals.
“The failings in the case of Mark Roberts are serious and go to the heart of our role in protecting the public. Mr Roberts has repeatedly exposed patients and members of staff to risk of infection over a considerable period of time and demonstrated a lack of insight into his conduct and remorse. Mr Roberts has shown a clear disregard for the standards for dental professionals, which are designed to protect patients, and his removal from the register reflects our commitment to patient protection and maintaining public confidence in dental services.”