New research has been published by the General Dental Council identifying key areas of best practice in remediation and highlights persistent barriers that may hinder its effective implementation.
What is remediation?
In the context of fitness to practise, remediation refers to the process by which a professional—often in a healthcare or related regulated field—takes deliberate, demonstrable steps to address concerns that have been raised about their conduct, performance, behaviour, or health. In essence, it’s not merely an apology or a fleeting fix; it’s a structured, reflective, and corrective journey toward ensuring that any previous deficiencies are adequately rectified so that safe and effective practice can be restored.
Why remediation is crucial
Remediation is a cornerstone of the fitness to practise framework because it helps balance the need to protect public safety and maintain trust in the profession with the understanding that professionals are capable of learning from their mistakes. Rather than serving as a punitive measure on its own, it offers a pathway for improvement, ensuring that the professional can eventually return to safe, independent practice if they successfully address the issues that arose.
Best Practice in Remediation
Best practice in remediation centres on tailored, targeted interventions that address specific deficiencies rather than applying generic solutions. This includes reflective practice, structured learning opportunities, and support mechanisms that enable registrants to understand the nature of their shortcomings and take meaningful steps toward improvement.
The research also underscores the importance of early engagement with remediation, suggesting that timely interventions can reduce the adversarial nature of proceedings and mitigate the emotional toll on professionals.
Another hallmark of effective remediation is the emphasis on individualised support, which considers the registrant’s context, including cultural and generational factors. The study notes that remediation is most impactful when it is not only proportionate to the concerns raised but also aligned with the registrant’s capacity for change.
Legal and procedural clarity also emerged as a best practice theme. The research highlights the need for transparent guidelines and consistent decision-making frameworks to ensure remediation is applied fairly across cases.
Lack of legal representation: A Barrier to Effective Implementation
Despite these promising practices, the study identifies several barriers that can obstruct meaningful remediation, most notably the lack of representation. The lack of representation limits registrant’s ability to engage with remediation effectively. Without adequate legal or professional support, individuals may struggle to navigate the complexities of the fitness to practise process or fail to recognise the seriousness of the concerns raised.
Other identified obstacles include:
- lack of trust in the regulator, which can discourage registrants from engaging openly with the process.
- strategic delays in acknowledging concerns—such as waiting to fully understand the nature of allegations before taking action—can hinder early remediation.
- equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations, noting that remediation must be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of registrants.
Unique and practical courses focusing on impairment, reflection, insight, and remediation
Insight Works Training has been developed specifically to address this. The courses are unique and practical focussing solely on taking health and care registrants through the process of impairment, reflection, insight and remediation, focussing on the area where nearly all professionals fall down – proving, evidencing, and demonstrating them.
Insight Works Training offers courses on:
- Impairment, reflection, insight, and remediation;
- Restoration for healthcare practitioners who are considering making an application for restoration back onto the register;
- Probity, Ethics and Professionalism for Health and Social Care Professionals; and
- 1:1 mentoring programme specifically designed for those facing fitness to practise or restoration hearings.
Disclaimer: This article is for guidance purposes only. Kings View Chambers accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any action taken, or not taken, in relation to this article. You should seek the appropriate legal advice having regard to your own particular circumstances.