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Revalidation

Introduction

Please note that in light of on-going discussions around revalidation, the information on these pages will be subject to change. We will endeavour to keep the information as up-to-date as possible.

The vast majority of public health professionals are practising to a high standard. Revalidation should be a process that will support continuous quality improvement in standards and practice for both public health professionals and the public alike.

Revalidation is a process of the General Medical Council (GMC) and the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for those who wish to retain their licence to practise as doctors/specialists.

These pages focus on GMC revalidation. A separate page with information on UKPHR revalidation has been developed and will be updated accordingly.

Revalidation to the GMC

This process is governed by the GMC, and it is a requirement for all doctors as set out by law.

The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) has two roles in GMC revalidation. Most public health doctors will revalidate through their employer (trust, board, health authority, agency or similar). Revalidation is based on annual appraisal, and the employer is required, as a designated body, to ensure that appraisers are appointed and trained.

The first role of FPH is to offer ‘speciality guidance’ on the particularities of public health practice. This will enable the Responsible Officer (RO) to do his or her job well. For example, ROs will need to know about:

  • Audit in public health
  • Case reviews in public health

So FPH offers guidance on these and other issues.

For a small number of public health doctors, FPH is itself their designated body for revalidation; this is the second role of FPH. For these doctors FPH:

  • Appoints and trains appraisers to carry out annual appraisals.
  • Makes available an instrument for gathering feedback from patients and colleagues.
  • Intervenes where necessary and offers remediation where there are concerns about practice.
  • Makes a recommendation to the GMC about a doctor’s fitness to practise.

A key component of annual appraisal is a requirement for evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) and so FPH runs a CPD scheme with:

  • An online diary of CPD for members and Fellows to use.
  • A system of checks to validate Fellows’ CPD record.

Annual appraisal and revalidation depends on evidence, so FPH is also developing an online portfolio to help members and Fellows collect, organise and store the evidence needed for annual appraisal and five-yearly revalidation.

A presentation that provides an overview of revalidation.

GMC revalidation timeline

Final guidance on GMC revalidation is due to be released by April 2012.

Next steps

  • GMC drafts and consults on revalidation regulations and accompanying guidance for doctors.
  • GMC writes to all doctors regarding designated body for revalidation.
  • GMC finalises revalidation and quality assurance model and begins developing internal systems for revalidation.
  • Employer Liaison Service rolled out across UK.
  • UK countries assess local readiness for revalidation and report back to the GMC to assist roll out planning.
  • Third stage pilots in England look at further areas of the revalidation process and how it works for different groups of doctors, e.g. trainees and non-clinical doctors.
  • Department of Health (DH) reviews and updates RO regulations to identify additional designated bodies and reflect NHS restructuring in England.

2012-13

  • Summer 2012: Secretary of State assessment of readiness to begin revalidation.
  • Late 2012: Switching on revalidation legislation.
  • End 2012/Early 2013: First RO recommendations submitted to the GMC.

2013-14

All NHS organisations and most other designated bodies to begin submitting RO recommendations.

2015

All designated bodies submitting RO recommendations.

2018

All licensed doctors revalidated and end of first cycle.

Revalidation to the UKPHR

UKPHR intends to ensure a system of revalidation that is rigorous, timely, effective, affordable and appropriate to its multidisciplinary and multi-professional registrants and that is equivalent to those in public health being revalidated by other, mainly statutory, regulators (e.g. GMC).

Revalidation will be mandatory for all specialist registrants, both generalist and defined, who intend to remain in active practice from the date of implementation.

UKPHR intends to commence implementation of revalidation of specialist registrants by the end of 2012 as an Assured Voluntary Register under the auspices of the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE).

The revalidation system will be based on the five principles of regulation – it should be:

  • transparent (clarity of standards/remediation process)
  • equitable
  • consistent
  • proportionate
  • targeted where action is needed

In addition, the regulatory system needs to sustain the confidence of both public and professionals. It should contribute to ensuring and maintaining a high-quality workforce. Revalidation should be robust, whilst proportionate to the risks to patients and/or the public posed by registrants.

Collaboration between UKPHR and other, statutory, regulators is aimed at minimising the additional burden of revalidation for those who are dually registered.

Revalidation involves affirmation of good practice in the field of the registrant’s current sphere of practice. It will normally complement other governance processes at local level.

Revalidation will be based on meeting the requirements of Good Public Health Practice and of the specialist public health competencies deployed by the registrant during the period of revalidation, which it is proposed will be five years.

Further Information

More information on revalidation can be found on the following websites:

 

 

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