Information for witnesses

Investigating complaints and concerns

When a General Dental Council (GDC) investigation into the behaviour, clinical practice or health of a dental professional results in an allegation, a hearing is held to determine whether their fitness to practise dentistry is impaired.

Allegations are made by the GDC, the UK regulator of dental professionals following an assessment of evidence. When an allegation is made, the Dental Professionals Hearings Service (Dental Hearings) will schedule a hearing before three independent panellists, known as a practice committee.

Witnesses may be asked to give evidence during an investigation or at the hearing. The aim of the hearing is to decide whether the allegations are true, based on the evidence put forward.

Who can act as a witness?

A wide range of people can be called as a witness at a hearing, including:

those who raise complaints or concerns with the GDC about a dental professional (sometimes referred to as informants or complainants)
any person with knowledge of the issues being investigated (e.g. NHS colleagues, patients, practice managers)
professional clinical experts
professional medical examiners
professional assessors
GDC staff members.

Dental professionals can also call witnesses to support their case. If a dental professional has asked you to be a witness, some of the information here may not be relevant to you. If you’re in this situation, you should contact the dental professional concerned, or their lawyer, for further information.

You can also contact our Witness Support Officer.

Preparing witness statements

The GDC must gather and present evidence to support its case. That evidence may include interviewing and taking written statements from witnesses. The purpose of the witness statement is to set out your evidence. Legal teams will assess witness statements and other relevant evidence, and make decisions about how the case should be handled.

Two people in the legal team will normally be allocated to work on the case, a lawyer and an assistant, they will be your point of contact. You can ask them any questions you might have about the case and the process.

The GDC’s legal team will turn your evidence into a formal witness statement. They will ask you to check that your draft statement is a full and accurate account of what’s happened, and to sign it to confirm.

Once signed, your witness statement cannot be changed. If you do need to add something later, you can make a further statement, but it’s important that every effort is made to ensure your first statement is complete and correct.

The evidence collected by the GDC legal team, including witness statements (and any substantive changes to your draft statement) is then passed to the dental professional, and their lawyer (known as ‘disclosure’).

Providing a witness statement allows the dental professional and their lawyer to prepare their defence, and an opportunity to consider your account of events. They may wish to ask you questions about the contents of your witness statement at the hearing.

Witness statements will not be given to the committee before the hearing, unless all parties agree with the content of your statement. Where both legal teams agree, your witness statement will form part of the evidence concerned and be given to the committee to read before the hearing. In some cases, some witnesses may not need to attend a hearing to answer questions.

If you are asked to attend a hearing to give evidence first-hand, you may be asked questions by the GDC’s case presenter, the dental professional or their representative and the committee.

Documents put before the committee

There will be a bundle of relevant documents put before the committee. This usually includes your witness statement and any documents which were attached to it as exhibits.

You will not normally be given any other documents before you give evidence. After the hearing, you can ask for copies of documents presented. Requests will be considered in line with our duties and obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and UK General Data Protection Regulation. Acting as a witness does not make it more likely that you will receive these documents.

Taking part in a dental hearing

If your evidence supports the GDC’s case, you may be asked to attend a hearing to give evidence. The GDC will only ask you to appear as a witness if it is necessary to protect the health and wellbeing of anyone who contacts a dental professional or otherwise in the public interest.

It is important that you review your witness statement before giving evidence. You can refer to your witness statement while giving evidence, and you can ask for a copy to be provided. The committee may ask questions to clarify matters with you.

You will not be provided with any information about other witnesses in the case or the allegations made against the dental professional. This ensures that your evidence is not influenced by anything anyone else has said and that the proceedings are fair. It is very important that you do not talk to anyone else about your evidence.

Once the hearing has concluded and the committee has made their decision, you will be given a copy of the findings.

You may not need to attend the hearing, for example, when all allegations are admitted by the dental professional. You will be contacted as soon as possible if you do not need to attend. This notice can sometimes be unavoidably late, if the hearing is adjourned for health reasons, the dental professional admits the charges at the start of the hearing, or the dental professional does not attend (the committee will decide on whether to proceed in their absence).

In some cases it is decided that there is not enough evidence to go ahead with the case against the dental professional, and not hold a hearing. You will be contacted if this happens.

Witness availability during the hearing

Hearings typically take place over the course of four to five days. You may be needed at any time while the hearing is taking place.

You will be asked to make yourself available for the duration of the hearing, unless otherwise informed. Where possible, you will be told on the first day when you can expect to be called (e.g. day-two of a five-day hearing). If you’re having problems taking time off from work to attend the hearing, please let us know as we may be able to help. We can write to your employer to confirm the dates of the hearing and explain why you are needed as a witness or send you a formal summons.

Having someone with you during the hearing

If you’re attending a hearing in-person you can bring someone with you, but they will be asked to remain in the waiting area until you are called. This is to avoid them telling you about the proceedings, and inappropriately influencing you before you give your evidence.

Expenses for companions are not covered, unless there are exceptional circumstances (e.g. you need support from a carer). Your point of contact or the Witness Support Officer will discuss this with you if relevant.

If you’re attending a remote hearing and would like to have someone supporting you, you will need to inform your point of contact or the Witness Support Officer in advance. They will confirm whether this is acceptable.

Where and how are hearings held?

Our in-person hearings are held in London, or you may be asked to take part in a remote hearing, using a video link or online meeting platform. Some hearings are a hybrid of the two. You will be told in advance about the format of the hearing (in-person, remote or hybrid) and when you need to attend.

You can find directions to our building and information about nearby train stations and bus stops on our Contact Us page.

Hearing date, travel and accommodation

You will be informed of the hearing date as soon as it is available. We aim to have cases heard within nine months of a decision to make allegations and refer to a hearing. This is not always possible, normally because more time is needed to complete an investigation.

You will be asked about your availability before the hearing date is set. You will be sent a calendar to record any dates that you’re not available. We will try to arrange the hearing for when you are available, but this may not always be possible. If the date of the hearing needs to be changed for any reason, you will be informed, and the reasons explained.

We do our best to avoid changing hearing dates. You can help us with the scheduling of hearings by:

Remaining available on the dates you provided.
Not planning events or travel during hearing dates.
Contacting us about any unavoidable changes to your availability.

You will be asked to make your own arrangement for travel and accommodation (find more about refunds for expenses below). If you have specific travel or accommodation needs (e.g. a disability) please get in touch with your point of contact, or the Witness Support Officer so appropriate arrangements can be put in place.

No longer able to attend or travel due to ill health

Please get in touch with your point of contact or Witness Support Officer at the earliest opportunity if you’re not able to attend a hearing due to ill health.

You will be asked about when you are likely to be well enough to attend. You will also be asked to send in a medical certificate or a note from your doctor to confirm your condition.

Please also get in contact if you are going to have difficulty travelling due to ill health. In these circumstances:

we may ask for more details, so assistance can be arranged
apply to move the hearing date, or
arrange for you to give evidence in another way.

Adjustments for disabled or vulnerable witnesses

We understand that it may be difficult for people with a disability to take part in a hearing unless reasonable adjustments are made.

Others might find it difficult to give evidence in-person or travel to London, for different reasons, for example because they:

have caring responsibilities
social anxiety or feel intimidated speaking in front of others, or
are the alleged victim in a case, particularly in the case of sexual assault, harassment and violence.

Speak with your point of contact or the Witness Support Officer if you think an adjustment needs to be made for a disability or vulnerability. They will consider your circumstances and relevant rules for proceedings, and then let you know whether adjustments or ‘special measures’ can be requested.

An application may need to be made to the committee, which will include notifying the dental professional concerned and their lawyer. If they oppose the application, the committee will decide whether reasonable adjustments can be made for the hearing.

We cannot guarantee that special measures will be arranged. They are normally only available to disabled or vulnerable witnesses in exceptional circumstances.

Examples of special measures that can be taken:

screens can be placed around you so the dental professional and members of the public can’t see you when giving your evidence
giving evidence remotely.

Will the dental professional attend the hearing?

The dental professional will usually be at the hearing, but there may be times when they decide not to attend. They may be represented by a lawyer or non-legal representative, or they may represent themselves.

Covering expenses or lost earnings

You will be refunded reasonable travel and food expenses if you are asked to attend a hearing in-person. And if you don’t live within reasonable travelling distance from central London, you will be asked to book accommodation.

You will be asked to pay for travel, food, and accommodation costs upfront. Your expenses will be refunded on receipt of a completed expense form with all relevant receipts attached. If you are not able to pay upfront, please get in touch your point of contact or the Witness Support Officer as soon as possible, who will then arrange payment for your travel and accommodation.

You will be sent a copy of our expenses policy in advance.

We work to keep our costs down and reduce our environmental impact where we can. So please use public transport whenever possible. We will only cover the cost of using your own car or a taxi in exceptional circumstances, for instance if you have a disability or mobility issue. Get in touch with your point of contact or the Witness Support Officer before the hearing if you would like a refund for use of your car or a taxi.

We do not compensate for loss of earnings.

Not sure about being a witness?

Witnesses play a vital role in investigations and hearings about the conduct, practice and health of dental professionals. For this reason, witnesses can be summoned to appear at a hearing.

The system of dental regulation exists to protect the public and maintain public confidence. It would not operate effectively without witnesses coming forward to tell us about their experiences.

Can I talk to someone about being a witness?

Being a witness can be a rewarding experience, but it can be stressful for some people. If you feel that you would like support, you might want to speak to the Witness Support Officer, who is responsible for making sure that witnesses are properly informed and supported throughout the process. Support from the Witness Support Officer is free and independent.

Our Witness Support Officer can:

help you to understand what happens during an investigation into a complaint about a dental professional
arrange for you to visit the hearing room on the day of the hearing, before you are due to give evidence
support you over the phone, or on the day of the hearing, and be in the hearing room while you give evidence, if you want them to be there
help you fill in your expense forms
tell you about other organisations which can provide further support.

The Witness Support Officer is not allowed to discuss the evidence with you.

You can contact the Witness Support Officer at support@dentalhearings.org