The General Medical Council has undertaken a ‘revalidation consultation’ between March and June 2010. They have now issued a document entitled ‘Revalidation: the way ahead’.
The purpose of revalidation is to assure patients and the public, employers and other healthcare professionals that licensed doctors are up to date and fit to practise. Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health, has reiterated the government’s intentions in relation to revalidation which must be relevant to doctors’ day to day medical practice. This approach will reinforce and promote the importance of having robust clinical governance systems within healthcare organisations.
The highlights from this document are that medical revalidation is expected to start from late 2012. The GMC will work with the health departments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to ensure that all systems are ready by summer 2012. An assessment of readiness will be undertaken in 2012 before the Secretary of State for Health can agree to the commencement of the relevant legislation.
- The GMC view is that the revalidation model should be as straightforward, proportionate and cost-effective as possible.
- The Secretary of State has committed to an additional 12 months of testing and piloting in England.
- Revalidation will be introduced and rolled out incrementally and that there will be no ‘big bang’ approach.
- All doctors will need to be taking part in an annual appraisal process. The Good Medical Practice (GMP) framework will need to be embedded in appraisal. The GMP will be reviewed to present the standards in a more succinct and less repetitive manner.
- The GMC will review the specialty (and general practice) frameworks to identify what core information doctors should bring to appraisal.
- The Medical Royal Colleges should be involved in standard setting.
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an integral part of revalidation. Reflection and outcomes are to be incorporated into CPD.
- Doctors in postgraduate training will need to revalidate. The Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) should provide the mechanism through which such trainees would revalidate.
- Responsible Officers will need to be in post across the UK in the designated organisations.
- Process needs to be in place for the delivery of Responsible Officer recommendations to the GMC.
- There needs to be an agreed strategy for remediation where performance concerns are identified.
- The UK Revalidation Programme Board (four health departments, BMA, AoMRC, GMC, employer representatives) will oversee the implementation of revalidation.
- The process will need to be more flexible especially when considering non-mainstream doctors e.g. locum doctors or those working solely in the independent sector.
- Further define what information will be on the medical register including recognition that many doctors practise across more than one discipline.
- Evaluate and refine process taking in to consideration the experience of the revalidation pilots currently taking place.
- There will need to be clear timelines and key milestones for starting revalidation and incremental implementation.
The RCOG is advantageously placed having established a ‘Revalidation Committee’ at an early stage. This Committee continues to refine the College input into CPD, standard setting and the revalidation process including co-ordination with the AoMRC and GMC.
Further Information
The RCOG is committed to keep its Fellows and Members continually updated.
Please also see the GMC document Revalidation: Information for Doctors and Frequently Asked Questions.