The Society has led on this work since 2023 and attended several stakeholder events. As a result of the extensive work, the Society has developed a reporting pathway and additional guidance. Initially, the survey was designed specifically for dental nurses; however, after being approached by the broader dental field, the Society expanded the study to encompass the entire profession. President Clare Faulkner and Chair Lisa Andrews Davies have monitored and collated the responses to date, have raised concerns.
Executive Director Fiona Ellwood has noted that the work to date has caused concerns, and in 2024, the Society presented to the wider field on their findings. Early discussions were held with the General Dental Council (GDC), with the hope that they would follow the General Medical Council and incorporate similar wording within the GDC’s Standards for the Dental Team. The matter was briefly touched on in an open council meeting in 2024, but until now, there has been little change.
The report is a systematic review, and the information has been distilled down to 23 peer-reviewed papers from what started out as 2,238. The Society is delighted to see that the GDC has started to look at this, but we cannot stop here; it is time to lift the lid on this as others have in allied sectors and work towards the preventative measures that others are adopting. The first call is to update the Standards for the dental team to mirror the words of the General Medical Council and then move beyond this. The recommendations that have been proposed by the GDC so far are well received, but the big question for the Society is, ‘Is that enough?’.
We know from our own data, as found by the systematic review, that men are commonly the perpetrators, but we also ask for caution here because, as emphasised in one of the meetings, not all men are perpetrators, and we must ensure we move forward with sensitivity and caution. We know from our work that men, women, and the LGBTQ communities have been impacted by sexual misconduct, and the information also indicates that a small number of patients have sexually assaulted or harassed members of the dental team. Mirroring some of the other facts from the review, we also know that a large proportion of the profession is or has been aware of sexual misconduct taking place, but not everyone reported the incident. Our work now is to try to focus on how we can make it easier for a bystander to act, even if it is reporting.
We are delighted to have the support of the Dental Professional Alliance, and we will be delivering two sessions on this topic, including the latest guidance at the Birmingham Dentistry Show, May 16th and 17th.
To read the full report, follow this link https://www.gdc-uk.org/docs/default-source/research/sexual-misconduct-rea-report.pdf?sfvrsn=bd0eabbd_4
For further information, please do get in touch at admin@bdns.org.uk and come and listen to both of the Society of British Dental Nurses sessions, one in the Dental Nursing theatre on the Friday and the other in the technician’s theatre on the Saturday.