Changes to the FP17DC form have been welcomed by Dental Protection as “a significant step” towards protecting practice owners from clinical negligence claims that allege they hold a non-delegable duty of care to a patient, despite them having no involvement in their treatment.
The NHS FP17DC form is a treatment plan that NHS dental practices in England and Wales provide to patients at the start of their course of treatment. While the previous form only had a space for the practice owner’s name, the new FP17DC that took effect on 1 April 2026 now also requires the name of the clinician responsible for delivering the treatment.
This distinction is particularly important in light of the Court of Appeal’s decision in the 2022 Hughes v Rattan case. While Raj Rattan successfully challenged the vicarious liability aspect of the claim, the court maintained that he owed a non-delegable duty of care to Ms Hughes. A key factor was that the FP17DC treatment form named only him as the practice owner and ‘provider’ of treatment even though he never treated the patient.
Since the judgment, Dental Protection has campaigned for amendments to the form to avoid other practice owners experiencing similar outcomes in these claims. This included lobbying the minister, meeting with key individuals within the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, and making representations to the Health Select Committee.
Dr Yvonne Shaw, Underwriting Policy Lead at Dental Protection, said: “High profile non-delegable duty of care claims had left some practice owners worried that they could end up being found liable for treatment they did not provide. Dental Protection has long called for change, and these amendments to the FP17DC form mark a significant step in reducing the chances of these claims succeeding.
“We are grateful to Raj, now our Global Adviser, for personally continuing to highlight the need for these amendments following his case, to benefit the wider profession. We also thank the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England for making these changes when the form was being revised to reflect changes to the dental contract.
“Of course, the change to the personal dental treatment plan form will not necessarily stop claims being brought, but it may stop such claims from being successful. We urge practices to ensure their software has been updated to include the new form, and to consider the steps Dental Protection has previously set out, which may also help in thwarting non-delegable duty of care claims.
“This includes ensuring information provided to patients explains that associate dentists and other self-employed clinicians are independent contractors and are personally responsible for the treatment they provide. Practices should also ensure that all correspondence with the patient – right from when the first appointment is booked – makes clear who is the treating clinician(s), and who is responsible for their course of treatment.
“At Dental Protection, we are committed to doing everything we can on this issue, on behalf of members and the wider dental profession.”
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Notes to editors
The updated treatment form can be found here: Where can I find information on the FP17DC, FP17DC(w), FP17DCO, and FP17DCO(w) treatment plan forms? · Customer Self-Service
For further information contact: [email protected].
About Dental Protection
Dental Protection is a registered trademark and a trading name of The Medical Protection Society Limited (“MPS”). MPS is the world’s leading protection organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals. We protect and support the professional interests of more than 300,000 members around the world. Membership provides access to expert advice and support and can also provide, depending on the type of membership required, the right to request indemnity for any complaints or claims arising from professional practice.
Our in-house experts assist with the wide range of legal and ethical problems that arise from professional practice. This can include clinical negligence claims, complaints, medical and dental council inquiries, legal and ethical dilemmas, disciplinary procedures, inquests and fatal accident inquiries.
Our philosophy is to support safe practice in medicine and dentistry by helping to avert problems in the first place. We do this by promoting risk management through our E-learning, publications, conferences, lectures and presentations.
MPS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MPS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.