Case examiners to start at GDC
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- Published: Wednesday, 03 February 2016 07:36
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Following debates in both Houses of Parliament the Order permitting the GDC to appoint case examiners has been passed into law and will become effective later this year. The GDC ‘welcomed’ the Lords debate, where they were slated by Lord Hunt, and said that consultation on implementing the Order would start on Feb 1.
Responding to the debate in the House of Lords about the new Section 60 legislation, where Lord Hunt said called on the Council to resign, a spokesperson for the GDC said: “We welcome discussion of the GDC's Fitness to Practise process as a way of receiving constructive input into how we improve our work. These much needed changes to legislation will allow us to streamline the process of investigating complaints about dental professionals. This benefits both patients and the dental profession as we are able to make decisions - and as necessary, take action - much more quickly, helping individuals in the process to meet the required standards for the benefit of patients. We look forward to working with Government, the profession and patients to ensure we make the best use of our new powers when they come into force later this year. We will be consulting on our plans from 1 February 2016.”
Following the Lords consideration of the Order, a House of Commons debated it in committee. The health minister responsible for the GDC, Ben Gummer MP, made the same speech as Lord Prior did in the Lords the previous day. Only two other members spoke the Opposition shadow minister and the MP for Lichfield Michael Fabricant who had rung his own dentist that morning to find out what he thought of the GDC. A verbatim account of this conversation was not given but the MP sought assurances that the case examiners would be independent of the GDC, although employed by them, that one would be a dentist and that it would cost no more. The minister gave assurances as to independence and said he had told the regulators that he expects any savings to be passed back to registrants.
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