DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by The Government News Network on 23 July 2008
Plans to improve
patient safety and support professionals in sustaining their high
standards, were today set out by the Chief Medical Officer for
England (CMO) Sir Liam Donaldson.
In proposals, outlined in the report "Medical Revalidation -
Principles and Next Steps", doctors will, be required to
renew their professional registration every five years, in order
to provide assurance that they are practising to the standard that
patients, the public and the profession itself expect. It will
also play a part in putting quality at the heart of NHS care - a
key element of the proposals outlined in Lord Darzi's report
"High Quality Care for All".
Patients will play an important role in this process. They will
be asked for views on their doctor, including :
* Effective communication, including listening, informing and explaining;
* Involving patients in treatment decisions;
* Care co-ordination and support for self-care; and
* Showing respect for patients and treating them with dignity.
Speaking on publication of the report, CMO Sir Liam Donaldson said:
"I'm confident that this process, agreed with
doctors' representatives will help raise standards of medical
practice and improve the quality of the patient experience. The
involvement of patients and public in the process will help define
what counts as good healthcare and in the rare cases where doctors
are falling short, provide them, where possible, with the support
needed to renew their registration.
The General Medical Council will be establishing a programme
board to support the development of revalidation processes as well
as to consider the practical issues around implementation. The
GMC, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and UK Health
Departments have all committed to working together with patients,
the profession, and employers.
Underlining the support which doctors themselves have given the
proposals, President of the GMC, Sir Graeme Catto said:
"The introduction of revalidation represents the biggest
change to medical regulation in one hundred and fifty years. The
GMC welcomes the opportunity to work with partners in healthcare
organisations across the United Kingdom to develop a supportive
process focussed on raising standards that will deliver benefits
to both patients and professionals."
Members of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges will have a
central role in setting standards for recertification and
designing the methods by which doctors will be evaluated against
those standards. Its president Dame Carol Black said:
"I warmly welcome this opportunity to help shape the
development of revalidation. The Academy and the Royal Colleges
have an important role to play in the development process. We will
be working with the GMC and others to establish standards for
specialist practice that doctors will have to achieve to obtain
specialist recertification."
The revalidation and recertification process will be introduced
in stages from the spring following a series of pilots scheduled
to begin at the start of the year.
These arrangements will be supported by the introduction of
Responsible Officers, senior doctors in each healthcare
organisation who will take responsibility for collating the
information needed to support a recommendation on revalidation.
Alongside the release of the CMO's report we are also today
issuing a consultation paper with more detailed proposals on how
Responsible Officers will operate.
Notes for editors
The White Paper largely endorsed proposals for revalidation made
by the CMO for England in Good doctors, safer patients.
The report can be found on the DH website at http://www.dh.gov.uk
Relicensing will rely primarily on information derived from a
revised and strengthened form of annual appraisal that will
include evidence from periodic multi-source feedback from
patients, peers and colleagues. Recertification will be based on
standards for specialist practice set by the medical Royal
Colleges and approved by the General Medical Council. The Medical
Royal Colleges will design methods of evaluation that are fair,
effective and fit for purpose.
The consultation on the introduction of Responsible officers can
be found at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/index.htm