The General Dental Council (GDC) has confirmed its move for dental professional hearings to be held online is to be made permanent following a public consultation.
The policy will take effect from 1 April 2025 to allow for guidance for all independent committees at the hearings service to be developed and for monitoring processes to be put in place.
The move follows the implementation of remote hearings in recent years, with GDC data showing that 87% of the 508 substantive hearings held between January 2022 and May 2024 were conducted remotely.
Under the new policy, dental professionals will retain the right to request an in-person hearing for any reason. The regulator says this will be granted in most cases. The GDC also maintains the right to request in-person proceedings where appropriate.
Where there is no consensus between parties, an independent panel will provide direction through a preliminary meeting.
Remote hearings ‘effective’, GDC finds
Stefan Czerniawski is executive director of strategy at the GDC. He said: ‘The decision to make remote hearings permanent reflects the clear benefits observed over the past few years. While maintaining our commitment to fairness and public protection, remote hearings have demonstrated reduced stress, significant cost savings, and improved accessibility for participants.
‘Dental professionals retain the right to request in-person hearings and the GDC will normally agree with any requests made. We will continue to ensure our processes serve both the public and the profession effectively.’
You can read a summary of the stakeholder views and the consultation outcomes here.
Conducted between November 2023 and February 2024, the consultation found that most respondents agreed that remote hearings were effective.
Respondents tended to agree that there had not been any issues of significant concern relating to remote hearings. There was some disagreement on how decisions should be made. There was also disagreement on whether it was reasonable to ask the dental professional to request an in-person hearing.
Between the start of January 2022 and the end of May 2024 there were 508 substantive hearings held. Of these, 87% (443) where remote and 13% (65) in-person or hybrid. Consensus on the format could not be reached in only 25 cases, and of these, only five registrant applications were rejected.
Retain the right
John Makin, head of the DDU, said: ‘We are disappointed by the GDC’s decision. While we don’t dispute that in many instances, a remote hearing is preferable for all parties, we believe it is wrong for it to be a default position.
‘Dental professionals are already under considerable pressure when responding to allegations being made and to first have to make a case for an in-person hearing, will add to their distress.
‘We note the GDC explains that dental professionals will retain the right to request an in-person hearing. At the DDU we will continue to advocate for members at the GDC, requesting an in-person hearing wherever we think this will be in their best interests. We will hold the GDC to their promise that such requests will be granted in most cases.’
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