Revalidation for doctors will result in better care for patients

Posted 06/11/2012

It was reported in the Guardian today that giving all doctors annual assessments and detailed checks every five years will result in better care for patients and reduce compensation claims, but may see an exodus of experienced medics from the NHS who are reluctant to be tested.

In new evidence, the Government argues that the cost of the checks – about £100m annually – will be outweighed by benefits to patients and the profession. Better care and fewer court cases against medics will save nearly £1bn over 10 years, so revalidation would almost pay for itself, the Government says.

The study shows that about one in 100 patients who would have died or suffered harm in the course of being treated would “be avoided” because of revalidation. Even more striking is the drop in the cost of litigation in cases where doctors are taken to court over mishaps resulting from their care.

However, the Department of Health says the new tests may see an exodus of experienced staff from the NHS. The General Medical Council will be responsible for revalidation, which will be on the basis of a dossier of evidence of a doctor’s competence compiled over five years. This will include annual assessments and patient questionnaires.

Sophie Bales, medical injury solicitor at Ashtons Legal, comments:

“There appear to be high hopes that the revalidation process will reduce mistakes and increase safety for patients, reducing litigation against doctors. However, very little seems to be known at this stage about how the revalidation process will work in practice.

It appears that the GMC will review documents such as annual appraisals and patient questionnaires every five years to determine whether a doctor is fit to practise. However, it is unclear exactly what this information will comprise of and how it will be assessed by the GMC.

With such little known about how this process will actually work in practice, I find it difficult to understand how the benefits can be predicted with such certainty at this stage.”