Suitable Persons

A ‘suitable person’ can make revalidation recommendations for doctors who do not have a connection to a designated body. This page is for responsible officers and employers who want more information about this role.

Why have we introduced ‘suitable people’?

Most licensed doctors have a connection with a designated body. The responsible officer of this designated body will make a recommendation to us that the doctor is up to date, fit to practise and should be revalidated. However, under the current responsible officer regulations some doctors do not have a connection.

Our revalidation regulations, which came into effect on 3 December 2012, allow us to accept recommendations for doctors made by ‘suitable people’ on behalf of doctors who do not have a responsible officer. This will allow some doctors who do not currently have a connection to engage in local systems and revalidate.

What is a suitable person?

Our revalidation regulations allow two types of suitable person:

• An existing responsible officer
• A person who holds a post in an organisation which includes responsibilities similar to that of a responsible officer.

A suitable person will perform the same functions as a responsible officer and will be responsible for:

• overseeing the evaluation of fitness to practise, and monitoring the conduct and performance of doctors
• ensuring that there are systems and processes in place locally to support doctors in their revalidation, such as annual appraisals
• making recommendations to the GMC about the revalidation of doctors to which they have an approved connection.

If we recognise you as a suitable person, all guidance and instructions for responsible officers will apply to you.

Criteria to be a suitable person

Read the criteria for being a suitable person (pdf), which reflects the criteria which responsible officers must meet.

Before you apply

You may find it helpful to read our guidance for responsible officers on how they should make recommendations about doctors.

If you are thinking about becoming a suitable person, you should discuss this with your own responsible officer first. We will check your responsible officer is happy with the arrangements before we approve your application.

How to apply

We need to approve anyone acting as a suitable person, whether or not they are an existing responsible officer. This means that anyone who wants to make revalidation recommendations on behalf of doctors who do not have a connection to a designated body must make an application to us.

We will publish more details about this application process early in 2013.