Dental Hygienist Admits Practising Illegally
A dental hygienist from Deal has admitted practising illegally, after she continued to work following removal from the General Dental Council register.
Amy Brownlee admitted to continuing to working at Sandilands Dentist Centre in Park Street, Deal, despite that fact that she had been removed from the register as a result of failing to pay the annual retention fee.
In court in Canterbury, Ms Brownlee pleaded guilty to the charges. She was registered with the GDC until August 2012, when was she removed after failing to pay the annual fee. According to the Dentists Act 1984 all dentists and dental hygienists must be registered with the General Dental Practice in order to practise in the UK and as Ms Brownlee continued to work after she was taken off the register, this constitutes illegal practise.
Ms Brownlee had also been working illegally at Laurel House Dental Practice and this is where it was discovered that she was not registered with the GDC; the practice was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in January 2013 and the situation was brought to light.
Ms Brownlee appeared in court at Canterbury Magistrate’s Court on the 29th October; she was given a six month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £100 towards legal costs.
Ms Brownlee claims that she forgot to pay the annual fee and stressed that it was a genuine mistake. The Sandilands Dentist Centre confirmed that Ms Brownlee had worked at the practice for a number of years and was a very popular member of the team.
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