19.10.12
Hunt confirms date for revalidation
Revalidation is to begin in December 2012, health secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced.
The system, spanning the whole of the NHS, will consist of doctors performing regular appraisals to ensure their methods are up-to-date with the latest techniques and practices. The scheme will also consider additional factors, such as doctors’ abilities to communicate effectively and maintain trust with patients.
Hunt said: “Doctors save lives every day and making sure they are up to speed with the latest treatments and technologies will help them save even more. This is why a proper system of revalidation is so important.”
Once running, doctors are expected to be medically revalidated every five years. The system will be operated via an annual appraisals scheme, usually conducted by medical directors, who will be responsible for submitting doctors’ performance reviews to the General Medical Council (GMC), regarding their continued ability to practice.
Doctors will be evaluated according to the GMC’s Good Medical Practise scheme, a set of principles and values which doctors must adhere to in order to be considered fit to practice in the NHS. The new system has undergone testing and piloting, involving over 4,000 doctors.
Professor Sir Peter Rubin, chair of the GMC, said the introduction of revalidation will “make a major contribution to the quality of care that patients receive and will give them valuable assurance that the doctors who treat them are regularly assessed against our professional standards”.
RCP president Sir Richard Thompson also welcomed the announcement and said it will support doctors to develop and maintain “the highest standards of care” for patients.
Dean Royles, director of the NHS Employers organisation, added: “[Revalidation] is a very positive step forward and should herald greater patient safety and build confidence…It has been a long time coming. After years of planning and preparation the hard work of implementation now begins in earnest.”
Revalidation is chalked to begin later this year and is to be implemented for the following doctors and dates respectively: responsible officers and medical leaders by March 2013; approximately 20% of licensed doctors by March 2014; the majority of licensed doctors by the end of March 2016; all remaining doctors by the end of March 2018.
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