Dental Professionals Hearings Service determination — substantive hearing
Suspended from practice — 6 months
The regulator’s term: suspension
What does “suspended from practice” mean?
A suspension is a fixed-term pause on the right to practise. The practitioner cannot work in the regulated profession during the suspension. At the end of the period the suspension may be extended, replaced with another sanction, or lifted on review.
Concerning Ashley Alexandra Aydon, dental nurse (General Dental Council 216684).
Decision date: 10 April 2026 · Hearing started 7 April 2026 and ended 10 April 2026
In plain English
The GDC tribunal decided that Miss Aydon's fitness to practise as a dental nurse is impaired by misconduct. The Professional Conduct Committee found admitted clinical governance failings as practice manager at a BUPA practice in 2021 and 2022, including problems with infection control, equipment, medicines and staff training. The Committee also found that, when audited, she dishonestly told an investigator she had held a December 2021 staff meeting on the Winter COVID procedure when she had not. It suspended her registration for 6 months with a review, and ordered immediate suspension to cover the 28-day appeal period.
Charges
While employed as a Practice Manager at a BUPA practice between 2021 and 2022, Miss Aydon was alleged to have failed to ensure: a properly completed fire logbook; adequately cleaned cupboards/drawers; staff familiarity with and implementation of BUPA's Winter COVID SOP; a written complaints procedure; familiarity with the Wrong Site Wrong Patient SOP; up-to-date sharps and safeguarding documentation; an effective referrals system; adequate decontamination (Helix) testing; appropriate maintenance of x-ray and other equipment; safe management of medicines (expired adrenaline, expired local anaesthetic); proper training of IPC Lead, Fire Marshall and Practice Coordinator; and adequate response to issues raised on the 12 January 2022 audit. She was also alleged to have put patient and/or staff safety at risk; failed to cooperate with a GDC health-assessment investigation in 2023; and on 27 January 2022 told an investigator she had held a December 2021 staff meeting on the Winter COVID SOP, which conduct was misleading, lacking in integrity and dishonest.
Findings
Miss Aydon admitted charges 1-10 and 13. The Committee found charges 11 and 12 (a-c) proved on the evidence: contemporaneous notes, witness accounts and the meeting minutes' Word document properties showed that the December 2021 meeting did not take place and that, when challenged, she had said "I'll just say no". Applying Ivey, the Committee was satisfied she did not genuinely believe the meeting had occurred and that ordinary decent people would regard the conduct as dishonest. The Committee found her fitness to practise currently impaired by misconduct on public protection grounds (clinical governance) and on public interest grounds (clinical governance and probity).
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
No previous fitness to practise history; admissions, engagement with the process and attendance at the hearing; isolated and out-of-character dishonesty; no financial gain; expressed deep regret; some remedial CPD; a character testimonial; personal matters at the time (heard in private); misconduct occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic; inexperience in the role and lack of support; some, though limited, insight.
Aggravating factors
Attempt to cover up wrongdoing; dishonesty partially led to the closure of the practice; clinical governance failings carried potential harm to patients (e.g. out-of-date medications); premeditated clinical governance failings (knew what was required and did not do it); sustained failings over a period of time; only some insight; insufficient evidence of previous character; not currently working in dentistry, so no demonstration that CPD has been embedded.
Source
All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Dental Professionals Hearings Service determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.
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