How do I find relevant CPD opportunities for private GPs?

What the rules actually say

There is no CPD hours target for revalidation. The GMC says that because CPD needs to be tailored to your scope of practice and needs, it does “not mandate the number of CPD points you should collect”. It is interested in the impact of your learning, not the volume.

The RCGP takes the same line. It says the GMC does not set a minimum quantity of supporting information, hours or credits, and it recommends reflecting on examples of learning over the year that led you to change your practice.

Older guidance used a figure of 50 credits a year, and you will still see it quoted. Our earlier articles said CPD credits were needed to meet GMC requirements. That was wrong. Log what you learn, but spend your effort on reflection.

Plan from your scope of practice

Your CPD must cover your whole scope of practice. For a private GP, that usually means three areas.

• Core general practice. The same clinical updating you would do in the NHS.
• The private work itself. Remote consulting and prescribing, consent and fees, referral to private consultants, and any special interest you offer, such as menopause, travel health or screening.
• Running a service, if you have your own. Regulation, safeguarding leadership, information governance and complaints handling.

Use your personal development plan from your last appraisal as the list of gaps, and pick learning to fill them. See appraisal and revalidation for private GPs.

Where private GPs find CPD

• The RCGP. It offers eLearning and says its One Day Essentials conferences are free for members at the time of review.
• Local educational meetings. GP education evenings, and teaching sessions that private hospitals run for local GPs. Spire and Nuffield Health hospitals, for example, list CPD events for GPs, in person and online. They also help you meet consultants. See finding local private consultants.
• Specialist societies and courses in your areas of interest, which often carry their own training routes.
• Your medical defence organisation. The MDOs publish case-based risk and medico-legal learning, which is useful for private work.
• Professional bodies for independent practice. The Independent Doctors Federation runs educational events. See what the IDF is.
• Everyday learning. The RCGP counts clinical look-ups with reflection, webinars and podcasts, alongside courses.

Conferences, workshops or online learning

Format	Good for	Watch for
Conferences	Broad clinical updates, private-sector news and meeting peers	Cost and time away from sessions. Pick sessions that match your plan.
Workshops	Hands-on skills such as joint injections, dermoscopy or contraception procedures	Check what supervised practice you need afterwards, and whether your indemnity covers the new procedure
Online modules and webinars	Fitting learning around other work, and recorded content you can revisit	A certificate on its own shows little. Note what you changed.
Peer learning	Case discussion and significant event review with other private GPs	Keep patient details out of informal groups

A course being “CPD accredited” is not a GMC requirement. Accreditation can tell you something about quality, but the GMC asks what you learned and how it affected your practice. For peer learning, see keeping in touch with peers.

Training for your staff

If you register a service in England, CQC Regulation 18 requires staff to receive “such appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal” as they need for their duties. It also requires you to support registered staff, such as nurses, to meet their own revalidation.

The CQC says it does not specify mandatory training for GP teams. You decide what each role needs. Its GP mythbuster lists what it expects to see evidence of:

• basic life support
• infection control
• fire safety
• the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
• safeguarding adults and children, at the right level for the role
• information governance

Since the Health and Care Act 2022, all CQC-registered providers must also make sure staff receive training on supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability. The CQC says online training may be acceptable if you can show staff are competent.

A simple training matrix, with each person, each topic and the renewal date, is enough for a small practice. Add role-specific training, such as vaccination or sample-taking for clinical staff. See managing staff performance and appraisals.

Record it and reflect

After each piece of learning, write two or three lines: what you learned, what you will change and, later, whether you did. Those notes become your supporting information. Link them to audits, complaints or feedback where you can, because the GMC wants CPD to be shaped by your quality improvement and governance work.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The GMC’s CPD position applies across the UK. The CQC rules on staff training apply in England. Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Healthcare Inspectorate Wales and RQIA in Northern Ireland set their own standards for independent services, so check their expectations for staff training.