Revalidation

The new system of revalidation due to start in December is about addressing "deficiencies" according the the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.

There are currently no mandatory checks on the performance of individual doctors, however there is the system of registration which is over seen by the General Medical Council (GMC).

If serious complaints are raised about medical practice the GMC begin disciplinary procedures. This system only identifies problems after they occur whereas by contrast revalidation has been designed to try and prevent the problems occurring by regularly monitoring medical practice.

Each NHS organisation will appoint a "responsible officer", such as a medical director, in charge of overseeing the revalidation process.

The revalidation process will be carried out every five years by the GMC using evidence based on annual appraisals and feedback from both patients and colleagues on the medic in question. The "responsible officer" will make a recommendation to the GMC to aid their decision and in the vast majority of cases revalidation will occur. However, minor issues may lead to revalidation being delayed and major issues could lead to revalidation being rejected. In this case the medic would then not be allowed to practice.

In December of this year senior medical leaders will undergo revalidation checks and by April 2016 the "vast majority" of medics should have been checked.

"During piloting and testing of the new system, concerns were raised over the performance of 4.1% of doctors.

In 2.4% of cases the issues were judged to be lower level, such as lateness, in 1% they were medium level, which included problems with behaviour including rudeness to patients, while in 0.7% the problems were serious and would have had an impact on safety" (Source: BBC News)

The change is certainly a significant one, in fact "the biggest change in medical regulation for 150 years since the creation of the GMC." However we will have to wait and see if the new system is an effective one, will it lead to improvements in provision or could it affect patient care? For example the administration and assessments will be very time consuming, time which could be spent on patient care.. But regular checks will help to ensure doctors are providing the service expected of them..