Dr Bolton and Dr Preston share a responsible officer.
Dr Bolton has returned from nine months of maternity leave. Her revalidation is due within three months and she has been issued notice by the GMC that a recommendation is due. At her return interview, she indicated that she will be ready to revalidate because she had collected all six types of supporting information before she left, but she has not practised at all in the preceding 12 months and has had only four appraisals in the last five years.
Before Dr Bolton’s return to work interview, you intended to request deferral of her recommendation to take account of her break from practice, but are not sure that this is necessary.
Dr Preston has been on sick leave for seven months with a number of health concerns which have been kept confidential from her colleagues. She has collected five types of her supporting information with one outstanding. She will need a further two months to recover from an operation, and you have agreed a return to work date. She was issued notice two months ago stating that a recommendation is due, and the date by which the GMC expects to receive a recommendation is shortly before she gets back to work. She has missed one appraisal.
You are considering what decision to make about Dr Preston.
back to menu
We have presented these two cases together so that you can compare them, but it is important that you do not make your judgement in either case based on the other. You should assess separately whether each doctor has met the requirements for revalidation, and make your recommendation accordingly.
It may seem that a 12 month deferral is the logical choice for Dr Bolton, to take account of her 12 month break from practice. However, it would not be in line with our revalidation guidance to recommend a deferral simply on this basis. The question is whether Dr Bolton has met the requirements for revalidation, and this is less clear-cut. A break from practice, of any length, is not in and of itself a reason for a deferral. It is only when the break has prevented the doctor from acquiring the relevant supporting information and meeting the other requirements of revalidation that a positive recommendation becomes inappropriate. Although we would expect annual appraisals during the five-year cycle, there is flexibility to take account of circumstances.
In the case of Dr Bolton, maternity leave does not necessarily lead to a need to defer. She has said that she has acquired all her supporting information, and you should be able to verify this easily, including that it is current and follows our guidance. If this is the case, then it only remains to consider whether you can make the positive recommendation statements (pdf).
If you have any concerns that mean you cannot make the statements, you should handle them accordingly. If Dr Bolton’s engagement in her four appraisals was active and positive, then you do not need to be concerned about the appraisal she missed during her leave – especially as, in this instance, she has engaged with the return to work process.
The same applies to Dr Preston. The fact that she has been off sick for seven months does not lead automatically to a seven-month deferral. However, she has not managed to collect all her supporting information, so you would not be able to make her recommendation statement.
A deferral may be suitable, but you will need to agree with her how long she will need to collect the outstanding supporting information – for instance, a review of compliments and complaints may be acquired more quickly than the results of a patient feedback activity. Once Dr Preston has met the requirements for revalidation, regardless of the length of her break in practice, she too can be recommended for revalidation.
Assuming that you are content with the way Dr Preston’s health concerns are being managed, including respect for her confidentiality and management of the impact on her ability to work, then it is not necessary to tell the GMC anything about the doctor’s circumstances. The GMC will only expect you to make the deferral statement, confirming that you have agreed that a period is necessary for the doctor to acquire the information needed. In Dr Preston’s case this is attributable to health-related absence, but it does not matter why as long as the problems in collecting the information are legitimate and do not meet the criteria for non-engagement. The judgement is for you to make, and the GMC does not need to be given confidential information about the doctor’s personal circumstances.
You can discuss this or any other case confidentially with our Employer Liaison Advisers. We will not act without receiving a recommendation from you, and we encourage you to explore your options with your ELA whenever you are unsure what the best course of action is.
You might consider whether your organisation’s return to work policies should be amended to include reference to revalidation so that all parties are clear in advance of what is likely to happen.
back to menu