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HPA welcomes medical revalidation

22 Oct 2012 01:25 PM

The Secretary of State for Health, Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, recently confirmed that medical revalidation will start in December 2012.

The UK will be the first country to introduce such a system covering all its doctors. To keep their licence to practise, doctors will be required to revalidate on a regular basis. Once the scheme is up and running this will normally be every five years.

Professor Anthony Kessel, the Health Protection Agency’s director of Public Health Strategy and Responsible Officer, said: “The HPA welcomes today’s formal announcement by the Secretary of State for Health. The HPA fully supports the revalidation programme and its contribution to the ongoing improvement in the quality of medical care delivered to patients across the UK.

“The agency understands that the process of revalidation will be an evolutionary one. We plan to take forward this work as we move into Public Health England.

“The HPA is well prepared for revalidation, with its training programme for medical appraisal at an advanced stage. All medical staff will soon receive notifications of their first revalidation dates. Our implementation programme aims to ensure that this process has practical value for all staff, with a clear focus on developing the skills needed to protect and improve the health of our population.”

For more information on this press release, please contact Chris Bentley in the HPA Communications team on 0121 232 9223 or email chris.bentley@hpa.org.uk. Out of hours a duty press officer can be reached on 0208 200 4400.

Notes to editors

For more information, see the Department of Health (DH) announcement external link.

View the statement from the General Medical Council (GMC) external link.

Find out more about some of the job roles undertaken at the HPA.

The Health Protection Agency

The Health Protection Agency is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. In April 2013 the Health Protection Agency will become part of a new organisation called Public Health England, an executive agency of the Department of Health. To find out more, visit our website www.hpa.org.uk or follow us on Twitter @HPAuk.