GMC Chair first doctor to revalidate
Professor Sir Peter Rubin, Chair of the General Medical Council (GMC), became the first doctor to revalidate on the 18th of December.
Speaking of his revalidation, Professor Rubin, who is a Consultant Physician and Professor of Therapeutics at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
‘I am delighted to be the first doctor in the UK to revalidate. This is the biggest change to medical regulation since the GMC was established in 1858 and change always brings some uncertainty to those it affects. However, to my medical colleagues I’d say that in this age of transparency our patients will expect nothing less. I’ve had a number of patient and colleague feedbacks over the last few years and they’ve been helpful – partly in reaffirming all the things I do well and also in identifying what I can do better; none of us is perfect. For the vast majority of doctors, revalidation will be about improving still further their high standards of practice.’
Revalidation – a new system of checks on doctors – is run by the General Medical Council (GMC) and means the UK’s 230,000 licensed doctors are now legally required to show they are keeping up to date and are fit to practise.
The decision to revalidate Professor Rubin’s licence was made following a positive recommendation from his responsible officer to the GMC. Responsible officers can make a positive recommendation when they are satisfied that the doctor is participating in an annual appraisal process based on the GMC’s core guidance, Good Medical Practice, has collected and reflected on the supporting information required by the GMC, including feedback from patients and colleagues and that there are no concerns about the doctor’s fitness to practise.
The UK is the first country in the world to introduce such a system across its whole healthcare system, covering GPs, hospital doctors, locums and those working in the independent sector. To keep their licence to practise, doctors will be required to revalidate on a regular basis, usually every five years.
Faculty Members and Fellows can obtain further advice on revalidation from the RCP’s Revalidation Helpdesk by emailing revalidation@rcplondon.ac.uk
