Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

The responsible officer's role in revalidation recommendations

This page is in Section 1: Introduction - part of the GMC's guide for responsible officers on making revalidation recommendations.

Making a recommendation on a doctor’s revalidation

The statutory responsibility of responsible officers (ROs) to make revalidation recommendations is distinct from their other duties as described in the RO regulations. Nevertheless, the legislation that supports revalidation dictates a number of additional duties that complement the RO's role in making revalidation recommendations.

As an RO you will fulfil your responsibility to make revalidation recommendations by submitting your recommendation to the GMC via GMC Connect or API.

Submitting your recommendations is a specific interaction with the GMC that stands apart from your other contact with the GMC (for example, discussing a doctor’s fitness to practise case or revalidation with the GMC Employer Liaison Service (ELS)).

Delegating activities: support for responsible officers

The Responsible Officer (RO) Regulations 2010 state that, as an RO, you are responsible for making recommendations about doctors’ fitness to practise to the GMC.

Under the RO regulations, your responsibility to make recommendations includes the requirement that you maintain records of how you have made recommendations about doctors’ revalidation.

Your responsibility to make recommendations about doctors’ revalidation cannot be delegated. While you can, for example, delegate the task of sending recommendations to the GMC, you are responsible for the recommendations that are sent in your name.

What responsible officers are not responsible for

As an RO you are not responsible for:

  • making decisions about doctors’ revalidation; while decisions will be based on your recommendations, only the GMC can make a decision about a doctor’s revalidation
  • putting in place local systems to support revalidation - designated bodies are required to put systems in place, but as an RO you must ensure that these systems are sufficiently robust to support revalidation
  • making recommendations about doctors for whom you are not the RO.

You cannot act as the RO for doctors that do not have a prescribed connection to your designated body, as defined in the RO regulations.