Fitness to practise whistleblowing rises by 74%

The General Dental Council (GDC) has reported 138 whistleblowing disclosures relating to dentistry in the past year, a 74% increase on the previous reporting period, with every report resulting in a fitness to practise case being opened.

Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, most disclosures came from dental professionals, while anonymous reports more than tripled year-on-year, rising from six to 22.

The GDC said the increase in whistleblowing may partly reflect a wider rise in fitness to practise concerns overall. It also suggested changes to the reporting process may have made it easier for individuals to identify themselves as working within the dental profession when raising concerns.

The Whistleblowing Disclosures Report 2026 found:

What is the most common reason for fitness to practise whistleblowing?

Conduct was by far the most prevalent fitness to practise concern raised. Two thirds of the whistleblowing disclosures (92) related to conduct, up from 54 the previous year. This represents around a 70% year-on-year increase.

Of the 138 fitness to practise investigations that opened as a result of whistleblowing, 99 cases proceeded to regulatory action with 39 closed at the assessment stage due to a lack of information. At the time of reporting, 82 cases remain at the assessment stage and 17 have been referred to case examiners – of which, seven have gone to a practice committee.

The report was produced by the GDC alongside regulators for chiropractics, medicine, osteopathy, pharmacy, health and care professions, nursing and midwifery, and social work. The GDC said it ‘highlights the regulators’ coordinated efforts to address the serious issues raised by whistleblowers’.

Debate over whistleblowing

The morality of whistleblowing has often been debated within the dental profession. In 2025, a colleague reporting ‘inappropriate and racially-motivated’ emails to the GDC helped draw attention to the misconduct, resulting in a fitness to practise investigation being opened.

However, Neel Kothari has previously argued that ‘registrants will not always refer for purely unselfish reasons’.

He continued: ‘It’s in everyone’s interest to maintain civility amongst colleagues wherever possible and at the very least ensure that our registration fees are being spent judiciously.’

Neel called for a code of conduct to be developed for whistleblowing to establish when a blue-on-blue referral is appropriate and when it is not.

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