The Dental Defence Union (DDU) has welcomed Department of Health (DoH) proposals to make indemnity insurance a requirement for all dentists.
The DDU said it strongly supported the proposal that insurance, rather than discretionary assistance, was the only way to ensure dental professionals involved in the treatment of patients had the security of knowing they would be assisted in the event of a claim.
It also said the changes would ensure that patients would be properly compensated if negligent harm was proven.
The consultation paper, ‘Strengthening the General Dental Council: A paper for consultation' proposed a Section 60 Order to amend the Dentists Act 1984 to allow the General Dental Council to require all dental professionals, on application and on renewal of registration, to provide the GDC with evidence that they had valid indemnity insurance, said the DDU.
The consultation document said: “A registrant must provide proof of indemnity when applying for or renewing registration. Any individual whose insurance policy expires must notify the Council. Non-compliance may result in disciplinary action by the Council.
“As a result, a patient would be able to apply for compensation in the event he/she suffers any loss or damage as a result of any defective provision of goods or services with more certainty that the individual practitioner would have the funds to be able to provide the compensation.”
Dr Michael Saunders, chief executive of DDU parent organisation the MDU, said: “In a dento-legal climate that has seen a rapid rise in the number of claims over the last few years, it is a concern that not all dentists have clinical negligence insurance.
“We have long called for regulation of the clinical indemnity market so that dentists and their patients are better protected and we strongly support this proposal.”
