GMC consultation on revalidation

19 March 2010

A MAJOR consultation on GMC plans for revalidation was launched in March and will run for three months.

Frontline doctors, patients and all those affected by revalidation will be asked 20 key questions in a bid to gather their views on the UK-wide scheme.

Under revalidation, the GMC has revealed it plans to issue a doctor with a licence to practise on a five-yearly basis, with annual appraisals of their skills and knowledge. It will be phased in over five years from 2011 after extensive piloting, which is already underway.

The proposals are intended to create a flexible system that is relevant to doctors’ day-to-day practice and builds on systems that already exist, or should exist, to support high quality care. The council have reassured medical professionals there will be no “big-bang approach” to the introduction of revalidation and it will not involve a point-in-time assessment of a doctor’s abilities. Instead, they say it will be based on a “continuing evaluation of their practice in the context of their everyday working environment.”

The consultation will be formed around four main themes of how revalidation will work; what doctors and employers will need to do; how patients will be involved; and how and when revalidation will be introduced.

Chair of the GMC, Professor Peter Rubin, said: "We want to hear from doctors, employers and patients and I hope as many as possible go to the General Medical Council website and contribute to the consultation and share their experience and expertise to help shape how revalidation will work."