'Complaints Threaten Credibility of Regulations' DDU Tells Conference
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- Published: Thursday, 28 December 2023 10:29
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Healthcare regulators must do more to discourage and root out feeble and vexatious complaints if faith in healthcare regulation itself is to be restored, the head of a leading dental defence organisation told a recent conference.
Speaking at a Westminster Health Forum event on ‘Priorities for Dentistry in England’, John Makin, Head of the Dental Defence Union (DDU) told attendees that his organisation ‘all too often’ saw dedicated dental professionals suffer needless stress because of protracted investigations that had been triggered by ‘groundless’ complaints.
Mr Makin explained: “When concerns are raised about a dental professional that might impact patient safety or confidence in the profession, it’s right they are investigated.
“However, we see a number of cases in which the concerns being raised have no foundation. We highlighted such a case involving a member in a recent journal. The whole process can be extremely stressful and protracted, especially in cases where there are several investigations into the same incident. We have reached a situation where the process in and of itself is a sanction regardless of the eventual outcome.”
Mr Makin continued “It is incumbent on those bodies investigating dental professionals, such as the General Dental Council (GDC), NHS England, CQC, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, to have the courage to firmly and robustly close down cases quickly where concerns have no foundation. This will not only safeguard the mental health of the individual practitioners involved but also give a morale boost to the profession as a whole.
“For its part, the GDC has introduced a pilot scheme aimed at speeding up the resolution of certain cases. However, without reform of the outdated Dentists Act, the GDC only has the power to make limited improvements to fitness to practise procedures” Mr Makin said.
“We need the government to fix a timetable for that reform without further delay and before the next election.”
The DDU is actively campaigning for a fair deal for dental professionals and GDPUK readers who wish to learn more can read about it in the latest DDU journal.
What is a ‘Westminster Forum?’
For GDPUK readers wondering who or what a Westminster Forum is, according to its website, the Westminster Forum Projects (WFP) is ‘a private company offering a proposition of strict impartiality in organising timely conferences on public policy.
Forums cover sixteen diverse areas including Business, Education, Employment, Energy, Environment and Transport, Food, Social Policy and Health.
‘The aim of all conferences is to provide policymakers with context for arriving at whatever decisions they see fit, and for all delegates to have the opportunity to lobby, learn, exchange views and network.
WFP forums derive their revenue from two sources: sponsorship and the cost of individual places to events or copies of publications. There is no other source of funding’.
In addition to the DDU’s John Makin, participants at the recent Health Forum included Stefan Czerniawski, Executive Director, Strategy, GDC who attracted controversy earlier this year when he announced that promised suicide data was not going to be released and Professor Rebecca Harris, Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health. Harris was a former Deputy CDO who resigned for unknown reasons and had been lead on contract reform.
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