GDC Guidance for the Registrar on applications for voluntary removal

GDC Guidance for the Registrar on applications for voluntary removal:

We have today published updated Guidance for the Registrar when considering voluntary removal applications from registrants who are subject to fitness to practise proceedings. Dental professionals who want to leave the register and, who are not the subject of any investigation into fitness to practise concerns, can do so through an administrative process. 

Our investigations into the fitness to practise of dental professionals are an essential part of the regulatory system that keeps patients safe and maintains public confidence in the dental team. Those who are subject to proceedings and no longer want to practise dentistry, can apply for voluntary removal from the register. However, when an investigation has been opened, both the public interest and the interests of the dental professional involved need to be considered and balanced when coming to a decision on whether to grant voluntary removal. 

We know that investigations can take a long time to conclude, and can have significant negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of participants. We want to reduce these impacts where we can, and have reviewed an updated our guidance on voluntary removal. The potential effects on the health and wellbeing of individuals are a key consideration, and additional emphasis has been given to these impacts in the revised guidance.

The aim of the guidance review was to:

• ensure patient safety, public confidence and professional standards are maintained
• improve transparency and consistency in our approach to applications for voluntary removal when a fitness to practise investigation has been opened
• ensure proportionality in decision-making on whether to conclude fitness to practise investigations in the public interest.

The guidance comes into effect on 28 August 2024.   

Find out more about leaving the register.