The British Medical Association (BMA) has pledged its support for the roll out of revalidation.
The announcement comes as the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) committed to fund remediation for doctors who fail the revalidation process.
“In addition to improvements secured over the past few years, we are encouraged by a commitment given this week that the NHS Commissioning Board (NHSCB) will establish funding to support GPs who need remediation away from their place of work, and confirmation that the responsibility for funding remedial placements and assessments for GPs will rest with commissioners,” said Dr Mark Porter, Chair of the BMA Council.
“The principle of fairly funded remediation had not been addressed previously, and had been our major outstanding concern.
“Fair and reasonable access to funding will be determined through a set of criteria determined by the NHS CB working with the BMA.”
While Dr Porter said there is “significantly” more work to be done to get revalidation into “proper shape”, he said the General Medical Council (GMC) has “broadly recognised” and “sufficiently addressed” its seven principles for implementation to proceed with its timetable.
Yesterday’s meeting of the UK Revalidation Programme Board will influence the GMC Council meeting scheduled for 27 September, in which members will decide whether to submit its revalidation proposal to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
