Appraisals and Revalidation for GPs, Practice Nurses & Practice Managers

Wessex LMCs has produced a comprehensive guide for the Appraisal and Revalidation of GPs and Nurses.

Please click on the image at the bottom of this page to access the publication.

Revalidation for GP's

Revalidation was introduced in December 2012 and is designed to reassure patients and the public that all doctors keep up to date and are fit to practice. The GMC has set out the requirements for revalidation for all GPs.

GMC’s Domains for Revalidation

The GMC has defined the four areas in which all doctors must ensure they can demonstrate through appraisals that they address their needs and provide supporting information to demonstrate this.

The domains are:

Knowledge, skill and performance
Safety and quality
Communication, partnership and teamwork
Maintaining trust

What do you need to do to be revalidated?

You need to participate in an annual appraisal which meets the requirements as defined by the GMC.

The supporting information that is required for revalidation can be divided into the following areas.

General information - providing context about what you do in all aspects of your work
Keeping up to date - how you maintain and enhance the quality of your professional work
Review of your practice - how you evaluate the quality of your professional work
Feedback on your practice - how others perceive the quality of your professional work

Once every 5 years, at a time decided by the GMC, the Responsible Officer will need to make a recommendation to the GMC about an individual doctor.

The RO will check that you have completed the annual appraisals to the required standard. They will ensure a colleague and patient feedback process has been completed. They will then triangulate this with any outstanding performance issues with the GMC or through the local procedures, and ensure there are no other local concerns.

The RO will not decide if you will receive a license to practice just make one of the following 3 recommendations:

There is no reason know that this individual doctor should not be issued with a license to practice;
The renewal of the license to practice should be deferred. This is a neutral act, the only people who will know this has happened will be the GMC the RO and yourself. The deferral could be for 3, 6 or 12 months. This would allow time for completion of one or more elements required for revalidation. It could have resulted from a period of sickness or maternity leave, but will not be used for those who simply can’t be bothered to participate in the process.
Failure to engage - if the RO believes that, despite their best efforts, you are not engaging in the process they can refer this to the GMC for investigation or action. The RO cannot, therefore, fail a doctor and remove their license to practice.

Please click here to read a statement from the RO to clarify the position on toolkits .

Please click here to read a statement from the RO regarding Confidentiality in the Appraisal and Revalidation System.

Wessex LMCs has worked in collaboration with FourteenFish to develop a web based revalidation toolkit that is easy to use and compliant with RCGP revalidation requirements. Advice has been taken from Appraisal Leads and a Responsible Officer. They are essentially the same site but with different names.

The toolkit has a yearly subscription of £42 a year. If subscribing it is then only £21 for a patient or colleague survey (£36 if not a subscriber).

The appraisal toolkit is designed to be easy to use and anyone that has started using a MAG form can transfer the data from the MAG form onto the toolkit if they wish.

CQC - GP Appraisals

The LMC has been made aware that some of the lead inspectors are asking to see dates and evidence of appraisals for everyone in a practice. Having taken this up with CQC, we can confirm that they are not entitled to see GP appraisals as these are between the GP and their appraiser but it would be helpful to have the appraisal dates listed for all GPs and staff.

Revalidation for Practice Nurses

In April 2016 it became a legal requirement for all nurses to go through a revalidation process every three years to maintain their registration and ‘fitness to practice’.

All Nurses employed in any health care setting will need to submit evidence to the NMC on line, nurses need to have a NMC online account to be able to complete this process. Revalidation encourages the individual to “reflect on the role of the Code in your practice and demonstrate that you are 'living' the standards set out within it.” You must also ensure that you pay your annual registration fee.

On 2nd February 2021 the NMC launched a new fitness to practice resource for employers

Where can I find out more?

There are lots of resources and up to date information on the NMC website http://revalidation.nmc.org.uk/welcome-to-revalidation/index.html

The process is divided into providing information and evidence on:

Practice hours worked
Continuous Professional Development
Practice related feedback
Written reflective accounts
Reflective discussion
Professional indemnity arrangements
Health and character
Confirmation

You can begin to process your application 60 days before your revalidation date.

Your up to date registration details are recorded on the NMC database that can be searched by employers and members of the public. https://www.nmc.org.uk/

Please also look at our webpage Appraisals and Revalidation for Nurses

Recording Information for Revalidation

We have worked with FourteenFish to adapt the appraisal toolkit and colleague and patient feedback modules already available to GPs, to make them more relevant for nurses. You can record and collate all the necessary information and links with the NMC forms. https://www.fourteenfish.com/audience/nurseormidwife

Free Training Resource for your Practice Team

To help all who work in general practice understand their role and the importance of Revalidation for Nurses, we have written a Lunch and Learn Training Resource that you can download here https://www.wessexlmcs.com/lunchandlearn.

It is a powerpoint presentation with a script that can be led by anyone within the practice to a group of staff to enable the nurses to understand more about the components of Revalidation and to enable the GPs and managers to understand their roles and the importance of giving the nurses time to complete the process.

Do contact Louise Greenwood, Director of Wessex LEaD (louise.greenwood@wessexlmcs.org.uk ) if you have any queries about Nurse Revalidation.

Practice Manager Appraisals

My appraisal exceeded my expectations"

" I really cannot thank my appraiser enough – I feel much clearer about how I plan to meet my learning and developmental objectives"

Wessex LMC Appraisal Feedback June 2014

Jane’s Story

And to hear how her appraisal affected Jane, please click here: Jane's Story

Wessex LMCs has recognised the value of Practice/Business Managers to General Practices within Wessex and has supported an initiative to develop a system of appraisal for them. The Practice Managers' Supporters Scheme and the linked Appraisal Scheme have been based, with kind permission, on the scheme in Scotland, developed by Marion Foster.

To find out how an appraisal run by another PM can literally transform your working life, please catch this short video.

For further information, please see our page " Practice Manager Appraisals "

The Value of an Appraisal. . .

It is very important that it is recognised from the outset that this appraisal process is not to replace a performance review. Appraisal is for reflection on the Manager’s work and approach, it is to help identify areas for improvement and development and to demonstrate areas where improvement and development has already been made.