What is the GDC’s approach to handling complaints against dental professionals?

The General Dental Council (GDC) emphasizes a clear and effective complaints system as its approach to managing complaints against dental professionals. This structured process ensures that patients and the public have a reliable channel through which they can voice their concerns about dental care and professional conduct.

A robust complaints system serves multiple purposes: it helps maintain high standards in dental practice, promotes accountability among professionals, and offers a mechanism for addressing issues that may arise. By implementing such a system, the GDC aims to protect patients, uphold the integrity of the dental profession, and facilitate learning from feedback to improve practices.

In contrast, ignoring complaints would compromise patient safety and trust in dental services. Delegating complaints solely to dental schools would not provide a comprehensive approach to addressing issues that may arise in practice. Furthermore, restricting feedback to only positive reviews would not provide a realistic view of service quality and could hinder improvements in patient care. Thus, the GDC's approach is centered around transparency and responsiveness through an established complaints process.