Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

Appeals regulations

Definitions

  1. 1. We define an ‘appeal’ as a request for a review of a decision made by, or on behalf, of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board’s (‘PLA Board’) Part 1 or Part 2 Panel (the ‘Examination Panels’) about the performance in an examination of a candidate or group of candidates.
  2. 2. A candidate who has attempted any part of an examination has, in the circumstances set out below, a right of appeal against the result.
  3. 3. The only ground for appeal is that there is clear evidence of procedural irregularity in the conduct of the examination (including administrative error) which has adversely affected a candidate’s performance.
  4. 4. An appeal will not be accepted on any one or more of the following grounds:
    1. a. That the candidate considers his or her efforts were under-marked;
    2. b. That the candidate did not understand or was unaware of the Examination Regulations or Candidate guidance;
    3. c. That the candidate seeks to question the exercise of professional or academic judgment.
    4. d. When the candidate has used false information in making the appeal.
  5. 5. We define as a ‘complaint’ any other concern about the service we provide, including issues such as staff conduct, disputes about our regulations, other procedures or their application. We will not consider complaints under these Regulations and candidates should refer to our complaints procedure.
  6. 6. We reserve the right to reclassify appeals to complaints or vice-versa at any stage in proceedings, in consultation with the person(s) appealing or complaining. This reclassification will always be done to ensure that the matter can be considered appropriately in accordance with these regulations.

Procedure

  1. 7. Any appeal shall be made in writing or by e-mail to the Head of the PLAB test section within 10 working days of the date of release of the results. The Head of the PLAB test section may authorise another member of staff to deal with appeals on his/her behalf. We advise candidates to submit details of any such circumstances as soon as possible and not wait until they receive their results.
  2. 8. Any appeal submitted after this period must include an explanation and evidence as to why it could not be submitted sooner and will only be accepted at the discretion of the Head of the PLAB test section.
  3. 9. We assure candidates that they have the opportunity to raise matters of legitimate concern through these Appeal Regulations without risk of disadvantage or criticism. We recognise the importance of confidentiality when handling appeals, and will maintain a candidate’s anonymity, as far as is possible, during any investigation.
  4. 10. Within 20 working days of the receipt of an appeal, the Head of the PLAB test section will investigate and collate all relevant information. He/she will refer it to the Chair of the Part 1 or Part 2 Panel for initial consideration within 10 working days after that.
  5. 11. The Chair may discuss the case, or direct the Head of the PLAB test section to undertake further investigations, as he/she feels necessary. The Chair of the relevant Examination Panel may authorise another member (or members) of the Panel to consider appeals on his/her behalf.
  6. 12. If the Chair decides that the appeal is unsubstantiated or outside the permitted grounds, we will tell the candidate of the reasons for this and that the appeals procedure is at an end.
  7. 13. If the Chair determines that there is clear evidence of procedural irregularity in the conduct of the examination (including administrative error) which has adversely affected a candidate’s performance, he/she may direct that the candidate be allowed to retake the examination at no extra cost.
  8. 14. If the Chair decides the appeal requires wider discussion, he/she may refer the appeal to the next scheduled meeting of the relevant Examination Panel for consideration.
  9. 15. If the Panel cannot reach a conclusion, it may refer the case to the next scheduled meeting of the PLA Board.
  10. 16. The decision of the Chair or Examination Panel will be sent to the candidate, normally by e-mail unless the candidate requests otherwise, within 5 working days of it being made.
  11. 17. If the candidate is not satisfied with the outcome of any appeal, they must contact the Head of the PLAB test section within 10 working days of being notified of it to request that their case be reviewed by the Chair of the PLA Board.
  12. 18. The Chair of the PLA Board’s decision will be final. If the original appeal has already been considered by the Chair of the PLA Board as described in paragraph 15, the review will be undertaken by the Chair of the Continued Practice, Revalidation and Registration Board (CPRRB). His/her decision will be final.