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Dental Protection has welcomed recommendations by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) for regulators, including the GDC, to help tackle inequalities in professional regulation. The
PSA oversees the GDC and other professional regulators and produces reports to recommend improvements. In its latest report, _Safer Care for All_, the PSA states that tackling discrimination
and inequality requires a collaborative, coordinated effort from all bodies involved in the provision and regulation of healthcare, including regulators. The report calls on the GDC and
other regulators to review and address ‘more directly and urgently' processes which may have a disproportionate impact on certain groups of registrants, and ensure investigators have
the right tools to interrogate information included within a referral, to help avoid progressing complaints against certain groups of registrants that are not well-founded. The PSA in its
September 2022 response to the GDC's consultation on its strategic plan for the next three years, also asks the GDC to consider how it is embedding equality, diversity and inclusion
across all workstreams, and in relation to all strategic priorities. Dr Raj Rattan, Dental Director at Dental Protection, said: ‘All dental professionals have the right to an inclusive
environment, and regulatory processes that are fair and just. ‘The GDC's 2021-2023 vision is to be a champion of diversity, equality and inclusion and one objective is to ensure that
regulatory activity is fair and transparent. This includes analysing over-representation in Fitness to Practise cases and what this means. ‘We are pleased to see this focus and recognise
there are multiple and complex factors behind this issue. However, the PSA is right to call on the GDC, alongside other regulators, to address the issue more directly and with more urgency.
We stand ready to work with and assist the GDC in this area wherever possible.' RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Dental Protection
welcomes PSA drive to wipe out inequality in regulation. _BDJ In Pract_ 35, 6 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-022-1793-9 Download citation * Published: 08 November 2022 * Issue Date:
07 November 2022 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-022-1793-9 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a
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