Profession joins forces on
revalidation
23.07.08
Good Medical Practice for General
Practitioners – the central document underpinning the
process of revalidation – will be launched jointly by the RCGP and
the General Practitioners Committee with endorsement from the
General Medical Council. (Wednesday 23 July)
Mapped to the GMC’s Good Medical Practice, the
document has been updated to set out the standards expected in
revalidation – and to help support GPs through the process.
Good Medical Practice for General
Practitioners was first made specific to GPs in 2002. Its
aim is to provide important guidance to general practitioners on
the expectations of their peers and the public as to their
standards of care and behaviour.
Key changes in the 2008 version include the
replacement of the term ‘Excellent GP’ with ‘Exemplary GP’; a new
section on appraisals; and modifications to reflect the changes in
general practice such as out-of-hours arrangements and the upsurge
in web/e-mail communication.
It follows the structure and text of the GMC’s
Good Medical Practice, witheach section providing
the context for general practice, followed by some points that
describe an ‘exemplary GP’ and an ‘unacceptable GP’.
The ‘exemplary GP’ statements will guide the
formative discussions in GP annual appraisals while the descriptors
of an ‘unacceptable GP’ and the requirements for revalidation will
inform an appraiser’s judgments. These are not intended to be
exhaustive, but indicative.
The purpose of revalidation (recertification
and relicensure) is to ensure that licensed doctors are up to date
and fit to practise. Although the focus of this document is on the
standards for established GPs, it has to be read in the wider
contexts of the RCGP GP Training Curriculum – which sets out the
competences and knowledge for becoming a GP – and Being a
General Practitioner, which describes how those
competences can be mastered.
Over time, it is envisaged that the statements
in this document will be linked to electronic
recording systems - such as the RCGP
ePortfolio revised for revalidation purposes - which will be used
by GPs to build up folders of evidence for their continuing
professional development, appraisals and revalidation.
RCGP Chairman Professor Steve Field said:
“Revalidation will be a major challenge for the profession over the
next few years and it is something to which we must all commit as
it will improve and demonstrate the quality of care we provide to
our patients.
“GPs can have confidence in Good Medical Practice for General
Practitioners in that it is jointly owned by the
profession and endorsed by the General Medical Council. We hope
that it will be useful now and over the coming years and look
forward to working with all GPs to guarantee that our patients can
have the utmost confidence and trust in general practice and
GPs.”
GPC Deputy Chairman, Dr Richard Vautrey said:
“We have been glad to work with the RCGP again in updating this
guidance and hope the profession finds it both useful and timely.
We believe it will support GPs as they prepare for revalidation in
the future, and as such is key to maintaining and improving patient
trust in the professionalism of GPs and the quality of care they
provide.”
In his introduction to the publication, Sir
Graeme Catto, Chairman of the General Medical Council, said: “As we
enter a world in which we can be confident that all doctors,
including general practitioners, are up to date and fit to
practise, we need to base our statements of good practice on
realistic and achievable standards.
“Appraisal and, in time, revalidation need
transparent and clear standards of practice. For general
practitioners, this elaboration of Good Medical Practice is an
important step towards this goal.”
/ends.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. Professor Steve Field and Dr Richard
Vautrey are available for interview. Please contact: Gillian
Watson, RCGP PR Team on 020 7344 3135 and Rebecca Spargo, BMA Press
Office on 020 7383 6174
2. Revalidation will now encompass two
activities – relicensure and recertification. The requirements for
revalidation will include both recertification and relicensure so
that one process covers both outcomes.
3. Revalidation will have three phases:
• preparation of evidence - over a period of
no longer than five years - which will be discussed at annual
appraisals
• submission and assessment of that evidence
to ensure it meets the standards for revalidation. The RCGP will
lead on this second phase, but the GMC will approve the standards
and quality-assure the process
• the third phase will involve only those GPs
on whom it is not possible to make a recommendation that they be
revalidated. For these GPs, the GMC will assess their performance
through its fitness to practise processes before their certificate
is put at risk. A doctor’s certificate and registration cannot be
restricted or removed, except through due process, under the GMC’s
fitness to practise rules and where there is evidence of impaired
practice.
4.The RCGP is a network of over 35,000 doctors
working to improve care for patients. We work to deliver the
highest standards of care through education, training and research
to ensure that patients have excellent healthcare, regardless of
their circumstances or where they live.
5. The General Practitioners Committee (GPC)
is a committee of the BMA with authority to deal with all matters
affecting NHS general practitioners. It is the only body which
represents all GPs in Great Britain, whether or not they are
members of the BMA. The committee is recognised as the sole
negotiating body for general practice by the Department of
Health.