This consultation sought views on the draft regulations covering the process that will enable the GMC to revalidate a doctor’s licence to practise. The consultation is relevant to all licensed doctors because it describes the process by which doctors will demonstrate that they are practising in accordance with the values and principles in the GMC's core guidance in order to maintain their licence to practise. It is also relevant to employers and contractors of doctors’ services and, in particular, to Responsible Officers within such organisations who will be expected to fulfil certain statutory duties as part of the revalidation process.
Revalidation:
The way in which doctors are regulated is changing. In future, all licensed doctors will need to demonstrate to the GMC, on a regular basis, that they remain up to date and fit to practise. The process is called revalidation. Its purpose is to assure patients and the public that licensed doctors are up to date and practising in accordance with the values and principles set out in the GMC's core guidance, Good Medical Practice.
The revalidation process in brief:
In order to maintain their licence doctors will be required to collect information about their professional practice which demonstrates that they are practising to the appropriate professional standards. This information will form the basis of discussion at an annual appraisal.
Most doctors will have a senior licensed doctor in their workplace appointed as a Responsible Officer. The Responsible Officer is responsible for ensuring that systems of appraisal and processes for collecting and holding information are in place.
Every five years, the doctor’s Responsible Officer will make a submission to the GMC about the doctor’s suitability to be revalidated. The Responsible Officer will draw on the outcome of the doctor’s annual appraisals over the course of five years, combined with information drawn from the clinical governance systems in the organisation in which the doctor works. On the basis of the Responsible Officer’s recommendation, the GMC will decide whether the doctor’s licence to practise should be continued (revalidated) for another five years.
In 2010 the GMC consulted on proposals for how revalidation would work. Further information about the revalidation process and the results of the 2010 consultation can be found at www.gmc-uk.org/revalidation. Now that the overarching policy and process for revalidation have been agreed, the GMC needs to make regulations which will set out the legal powers, rights and responsibilities of those involved. Those rights and responsibilities apply both to the GMC and to the doctors it regulates.
The Licence to Practise and Revalidation Regulations:
The General Medical Council (Licence to Practise) Regulations came into force in October 2009. They set out the GMC’s powers to grant, withdraw, restore or refuse to restore licences in a range of different circumstances.
These regulations are to be replaced with a new set of Regulations covering both licensing and revalidation. They will include the GMC's existing powers plus the additional powers it will need to maintain, withdraw, restore or refuse to restore licences in the context of revalidation. They will become the General Medical Council (Licence to Practise and Revalidation) Regulations.
