GDC publishes healthcare regulators’ whistleblowing disclosures report

The General Dental Council (GDC), along with eight other UK healthcare regulators, has published its 2024 annual report on whistleblowing disclosures.

Since 2018, all the healthcare regulators have jointly compiled an annual report to highlight our coordinated effort in working together to highlight and address whistleblowing concerns raised with us.

The aim of the report is to be transparent about how we handle disclosures, to highlight the action taken about these issues, and to help support collaboration across the health sector. Speaking up to protect others is important, and we want to encourage this, especially when there are serious concerns regarding public safety or confidence in the dental professionals we regulate.

This year we received 79 whistleblowing disclosures, compared to 82 last year.

To improve how we deal with whistleblowing concerns. we enhanced the way we review concerns when we receive them, through our initial assessment process. This has enabled us to better identify whistleblowing complaints earlier.

During this period, we also reviewed and amended our processes and procedures for the identification of whistleblowers, which included moving the responsibility for whistleblower identification to our In House Legal Advisory Service as part of their role within our Initial Assessment Decision Group. This enabled us to take an early legal review of all cases which has helped identify whistleblowers and provide better protection and support to them.

In addition, work is ongoing to amend our initial concern reporting webform to allow individuals raising concerns to self-identify as whistleblowers.

The report also highlights that, relative to other healthcare regulators, the GDC received a higher proportion of disclosures in relation to the size of our register. This is because most dentistry is provided in a primary care setting and outside the more robust clinical governance frameworks that characterise some other forms of healthcare and may mean that alternative disclosure routes are less present in dentistry.

This Whistleblowing disclosures report 2024 is published jointly by us with the General Chiropractic Council, General Medical Council, General Optical Council, General Osteopathic Council, General Pharmaceutical Council, Health and Care Professions Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council and Social Work England. 

You can read more on our definition of a whistleblower, find out how more about how to raise a concern if you work in dentistry, and download the Whistleblowing disclosures report 2024 on our website.