General Dental Council v Savery & Ors

General Dental Council v Savery & Ors

The GDC is entitled under the Dentists Act 1984 to use and disclose patient dental records for the purposes of investigating and prosecuting allegations of impairment of fitness to practise, without the need for a court order or patient consent, provided statutory and confidentiality safeguards are observed and the use is proportionate and necessary under Article 8(2) ECHR. The statutory regime provides adequate safeguards and the public interest in disciplinary proceedings outweighs the patients' confidentiality interests in this context.

Parties
Claimant: The General Dental Council; Interested Party: Mrs Ruth Savery; Interested Party: Mr Jaber Dikir; Interested Party: Mr Thamir Alkurwi; Interested Party: Mr Kamran Attaei; Interested Party: Mr Khaireddin Basel; Interested Party: Mr Wahaib Marmar; Interested Party: Mrs Fadwa Sabbagh; Interested Party: Mrs Abdulrazzack; Interested Party: Ms Maysoon Ahmed; Interested Party: Mrs Soham Alsalehy; Interested Party: Mrs Fatmel El Zein; Interested Party: Mrs Fabiane Ferreira; Interested Party: Mr Aziz Jaffar; Interested Party: Mrs Zahr Motsideni Zadeh; Fifteenth Interested Party: Mr Zuhair Al-Naher
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 November 2011
Procedural Posture
Application for Declaration / Judgment on Application for Permission to Use and Disclose Dental Records
Outcome
Application allowed; GDC may use and disclose dental records as proposed without court order or patient consent, subject to safeguards.
Legal Topics
Disclosure of Medical Records, Patient Confidentiality, Professional Disciplinary Proceedings, Article 8 ECHR, Data Protection
Administrative Law Medical Law Human Rights Law Disclosure of Medical Records Patient Confidentiality Professional Disciplinary Proceedings Article 8 ECHR Data Protection

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Parties

The General Dental Council

Claimant

Mrs Ruth Savery

Interested Party

Mr Jaber Dikir

Interested Party

Mr Thamir Alkurwi

Interested Party

Mr Kamran Attaei

Interested Party

Mr Khaireddin Basel

Interested Party

Mr Wahaib Marmar

Interested Party

Mrs Fadwa Sabbagh

Interested Party

Mrs Abdulrazzack

Interested Party

Ms Maysoon Ahmed

Interested Party

Mrs Soham Alsalehy

Interested Party

Mrs Fatmel El Zein

Interested Party

Mrs Fabiane Ferreira

Interested Party

Mr Aziz Jaffar

Interested Party

Mrs Zahr Motsideni Zadeh

Interested Party

Mr Zuhair Al-Naher

Fifteenth Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Application for Declaration / Judgment on Application for Permission to Use and Disclose Dental Records

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the General Dental Council may use and disclose dental records of patients for disciplinary proceedings without court order or patient consent
  2. 2 Whether such use is compatible with Article 8 ECHR and the Data Protection Act 1998

Ratio Decidendi

The GDC is entitled under the Dentists Act 1984 to use and disclose patient dental records for the purposes of investigating and prosecuting allegations of impairment of fitness to practise, without the need for a court order or patient consent, provided statutory and confidentiality safeguards are observed and the use is proportionate and necessary under Article 8(2) ECHR. The statutory regime provides adequate safeguards and the public interest in disciplinary proceedings outweighs the patients' confidentiality interests in this context.

Court Disposition

Application allowed; GDC may use and disclose dental records as proposed without court order or patient consent, subject to safeguards.