How do I get my appraisal and revalidation as a private GP?

What revalidation asks of you

Every doctor with a licence to practise has to revalidate, usually every five years. The recommendation comes from your responsible officer (RO) or suitable person, and it rests on your annual appraisals.

Private work does not sit outside this. The GMC says your supporting information must cover any work you do in “NHS, independent sector, voluntary and private work”, and you must declare every place you have worked since your last appraisal.

Across each five-year cycle you collect, reflect on and discuss six types of supporting information:

• continuing professional development (CPD)
• quality improvement activity
• significant events
• feedback from patients, at least once per cycle
• feedback from colleagues, at least once per cycle
• compliments and complaints

Your connection decides the route

Your link to an RO or suitable person is your “prescribed connection”. The Responsible Officers Regulations 2010 set out which connection applies, and where you have more than one, being on a performers list ranks above employment.

Your situation	Usual connection	What it means
You do some NHS GP work and are on the performers list	The NHS body that holds the list (NHS England in England)	Your NHS GP appraisal covers everything, including private sessions
You are employed by, or hold practising privileges with, a private provider that is a designated body	That organisation	You use its appraisal system and RO
You are a member of the Independent Doctors Federation and work in the independent sector	The IDF, which the regulations name as a designated body for members	You use its appraisal and revalidation service
A GMC-approved suitable person agrees to take you on	That suitable person	They make your recommendation; check the GMC’s list
None of the above	No connection	You revalidate directly with the GMC under extra requirements

The GMC has a “find your connection” tool. Use it, then check that your GMC Online account shows the right connection. Keeping it up to date is your responsibility, not your employer’s.

If you keep some NHS work

This is the simplest position. You stay on the performers list, your RO stays the same and your NHS appraisal covers your private work. Bring private supporting information to it: feedback from private patients, audit or case reviews from the private service, and any complaints or significant events there.

Watch the performers list rule. Under the 2013 Performers Lists Regulations, NHS England may remove you if you cannot show that you have performed NHS services in the preceding twelve months. If your NHS sessions are winding down, sort out your new connection before that happens so there is no gap. See working in the NHS and privately.

If you go fully private

A private provider you work for

Many larger independent providers, such as hospital groups and online GP services, are designated bodies. If you are employed by one or hold practising privileges there, ask whether it will be your designated body and how its appraisals work. See practising privileges.

The Independent Doctors Federation

The IDF acts as a designated body for connected members. At the time of review, its site says you need a GMC licence and must do all or part of your licensed work in the independent sector, and that membership is needed to connect. It uses its own appraisal platform. Our earlier version said the IDF was the only route for fully private GPs and mentioned its appraisal software. Neither is right any more. See what the IDF is.

A suitable person

A suitable person is a licensed doctor approved by the GMC to make revalidation recommendations for a doctor or a group of doctors. The GMC publishes the list. Some commercial appraisal and revalidation services work this way, so check that any service you pay for is on it.

No connection

If you have no connection, you can still revalidate, but the GMC sets extra requirements:

• Have an annual appraisal with an appraiser who meets the GMC’s criteria. Among other criteria, they must be licensed, connected to a designated body or suitable person, recently trained, and have done at least five appraisals for that body in the 12 months before yours.
• Send the GMC an annual return with your supporting evidence.
• Pass a revalidation assessment if the GMC asks you to. At the time of review it is a two-hour written multiple-choice test, usually taken in your revalidation year, and there is a general practice paper.

The GMC charges a fee each time you submit an annual return. Check its current fees before you choose this route.

Collecting evidence from private work

The main difference in private practice is that nobody collects the evidence for you. Build it as you go:

• Patient feedback. Run a formal exercise with private patients during the cycle. See getting feedback from patients.
• Quality improvement. An audit of prescribing, results handling or referrals in your private work counts. See how to run a clinical audit.
• Complaints and significant events from the private service, with what you learned. See managing complaints.
• CPD that fits the private work you do. See finding CPD.

Keep a simple log through the year and add to it monthly. It is much easier than reconstructing a year the week before your appraisal.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The GMC’s requirements are UK-wide, but NHS appraisal systems differ. In Scotland, GPs use SOAR, the Scottish Online Appraisal Resource. In Wales they use MARS, run by Health Education and Improvement Wales. In Northern Ireland, GP appraisal is coordinated by NIMDTA, and an annual appraisal is a condition of staying on the Northern Ireland Primary Medical Performers List. Performers list rules also differ by nation, so check them before you drop NHS work.