The UK Academy of Medical Royal Colleges has co-ordinated a number of short life working groups to develop principles, standards or guidance in relation to a range of issues of relevance to all specialties – e.g. criteria for the use of clinical audit in revalidation. They also fund a wide range of developmental projects led by groups of two or more Colleges, many of them concerned with practical support tools.
RCPE is involved with a number of these projects including
The impact of revalidation on the lives of consultants – this project, led by RCPE in partnership with other Colleges and the Health Services Research Unit at Aberdeen University intends to survey consultants in Scotland and the North of England to explore how revalidation may affect other important aspects of their work. This will start to estimate the costs of revalidation (in terms of doctor time) and explore any unforeseen complications in terms of impact on other areas of work.
E system to support appraisal and revalidation – this will develop an e system to allow consultants to capture and analyse relevant information for appraisal. It is intended to reflect the new structure of strengthened medical appraisal (which itself reflects the GMC’s 4 domains for revalidation) and will complement the existing CPD diary system available for physicians through the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians in the UK. It will be available on a voluntary basis for those who wish to use this method of preparation for revalidation and will interface with the different appraisal systems under development in the 4 devolved nations.
Guidance for Responsible Officers and Appraisers – this project will develop guidance to support ROs and appraisers in their assessment of the specialist elements of appraisal and revalidation. The project is at the needs assessment stage and is likely to be complemented by the development of a network of specialist advisers drawn from the 3 Colleges of physicians to provide specialist advice when required.
Pilot Studies
The English Department of Health has funded a number of pathfinder pilots across England to test strengthened medical appraisal in England and revalidation. Recently the Secretary of State for Health announced a further period of sampling recognizing the importance of testing systems fully before revalidation starts formally. Each pilot study has a Royal College partner and the UK Academy is updated regularly in the progress of these pilots. The GMC is determined to take due note of the outcomes of the pilots as it refines the processes of revalidation following its consultation exercise.
In Scotland there is a single pilot study in Highland Region exploring the availability of supporting information required by consultants to address appraisal and revalidation.
Quality Assurance
This important area of work will be a priority for 2011 as the GMC, together with other partners, considers how best to deliver a proportionate and effective system of quality assurance.
Fellows and Members should be aware that the College will take no active role in the decisions taken by appraisers or Responsible Officers about individual physicians – the latter being a role given by statute to ROs and which cannot be delegated. However the College will contribute to the quality assurance of revalidation processes and may participate in some aspects of QA including anonymised sampling of decisions and/or GMC led visiting of local systems. The College will update the information on quality assurance as systems develop in coming months.
Remediation
Consultants are naturally anxious about the system of remediation that will be available for the small numbers of doctors who struggle to revalidate.
The College is party to discussions that are ongoing in the devolved nations about how best to integrate remediation following revalidation with existing systems to support doctors in difficulty. The position of the National Clinical Advisory Service (NCAS) is uncertain in Scotland and, following the announcement that the National Patient Safety Agency will be abolished, may be equally uncertain in England. The GMC has established a group to explore options for remediation and the College will update information on the website as it becomes available. |
