MDDUS welcomes GDC’s proposals to reform dental regulation

Commenting on its release, MDDUS (Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland) chief executive Chris Kenny said, “We support the GDC’s ambitious proposals to build a new culture and encourage debate on reform. There is a great demand within the profession for accountability in terms of the GDC’s overall spending, particularly with regards to the fitness to practise function.

“We welcome the speed with which the GDC have initiated this review and their engagement with stakeholders such as ourselves. The welcome comprehensive fitness to practise review shouldn’t delay early implementation of relevant incremental changes.”

MDDUS head of dental division Aubrey Craig added, “The fitness to practise process should focus on the most serious allegations, where there is a risk of harm to the patient. This will help reduce the number of unjustified final hearings.

“At present the Dental Complaints Service (DCS) creates too much of an overlap between complaints handling procedures and FTP procedures. We therefore believe referral criteria need to be revisited and we are pleased that the GDC will look at this issue as part of the review.