If serious concerns are raised about a doctors practise what will be the consequences for their revalidation?
If concerns are identified about a doctor’s practice that are sufficiently serious to raise questions about whether they should have a licence to practise and the Responsible Officer is therefore unable to recommend them for revalidation, the doctor will be referred to the GMC’s Fitness to Practice processes. Where concerns about a doctor’s practise exist these should be identified early and, where possible, addressed through relevant local clinical governance processes including appraisal. The identification of, and action on, concerns should not wait until they are due to be revalidated but be dealt with through usual day to day systems or at appraisal. The Responsible Officer might also want to immediately engage with the National Clinical Assessment Service (www.ncas.npsa.nhs.uk) or refer the doctor to the GMC if the concerns raised are sufficiently serious. Where a doctor is referred to the GMC’s Fitness to Practise department for investigation their revalidation will be deferred
