Medical

Doctors begin ‘revalidation’ process

Picture of stethoscope for Your Expert Witness storyRadical changes to the way doctors are checked to ensure they are safe to treat patients came into force on 3 December. The new system of checks, known as revalidation, will be run by the General Medical Council (GMC). It means the UK's 230,000 licensed doctors are now legally required to show they are keeping up to date and are fit to practise.

The UK is the first country in the world to introduce such a system across its whole healthcare system, covering GPs, hospital doctors, locums and those working in the independent sector. To keep their licence to practise, doctors will be required to revalidate on a regular basis, usually every five years.

The GMC began the new system by writing to 13,000 doctors telling them when they will revalidate. The rest of the UK's licensed doctors will be written to by the end of January. The GMC expects to revalidate the majority of licensed doctors by March 2016, with medical leaders expected to go first.

Professor Sir Peter Rubin, Chair of the GMC, who will be one of the first doctors to revalidate, said: "This is an important day for doctors and patients. We are confident that over time revalidation will make a significant contribution to the quality of care that patients receive and should give them increased confidence that the doctors who treat them are up to date."

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter said: "Today is a momentous day – as doctors in the UK become the first in the world to have regular assessments to ensure that their training and expertise are up-to-date and that they remain fit to carry out their important role of providing high quality care for patients.

"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."

Doctors' leaders have pledged to scrutinise the revalidation system to ensure it is fair and consistent across the UK. The chair of the BMA council, Mark Porter, said the association would be monitoring the implementation of the process, which will check whether doctors remain up to date and fit to practise, to make sure doctors receive any necessary support as soon as possible.

The association played a key role in shaping the system and Dr Porter said the process that was coming into force today was a considerable improvement on earlier proposals, but he warned there is still work to do to ensure the system is workable.

They will prove their fitness to practise by undergoing robust annual appraisals. They will need to demonstrate participation in continuing professional development, quality improvement activity, feedback from colleagues and patients where applicable, and reflection on significant events.

Dr Porter added: "While revalidation will strengthen current assessments, it is important to remember that doctors are already providing a very high-quality service."