MRCGP Equal Opportunities Policy (19 KB PDF)
Disabilities and reasonable adjustments
Specific Learning Disability (SpLD) assessments during COVID-19
New SpLD assessments may be done remotely due to COVID-19 social distancing measures. This means disability assessors will use remote technology instead of a face-to-face meeting and provide an ‘Assessment of Need'. The SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) has introduced minimum standards for disability assessors to follow.
Remote assessments can use a limited range of tools and may not give an accurate diagnosis of a SpLD. As a result, recommendations for reasonable adjustments will need to be treated with caution.
SASC states assessments that can wait, should wait, but we understand this is not possible for many candidates. For this reason, we will treat remote assessment outcomes with caution and on a case-by-case basis.
We will accept preliminary findings and recommendations from remote assessments for AKT exam sittings. For the vast majority of candidates there will be no need for a further face-to-face educational psychologist assessment. However, in some situations, assuming face-to-face assessments have safely resumed, the RCGP may request a further detailed assessment (or other supporting evidence) before a final decision on Reasonable Adjustments is made.
We will review this guidance throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It may change in line with the government’s latest social distancing guidance.