New guidance on the training of all health care professionals, including GPs, GP safeguarding leads, urgent care staff and practice staff was published in January.

See the completely new Safeguarding page for a summary.

Safeguarding Children and Young People: Roles and Competencies for Healthcare Staff (Intercollegiate document, January 2019)

Responsible Officer and Appraisal Network (ROAN) information sheets are written on an ad-hoc basis on issues of relevance to responsible officers and their teams, medical appraisers and doctors. 

The current list is:
ROAN Info Sheet 1a: Simplifying appraisal preparation for doctors 
ROAN Info Sheet 1b: Simplifying appraisal preparation for GPs 
ROAN Info Sheet 2: GP Retention Scheme 
ROAN Info Sheet 3: GP Health Service 
ROAN Info Sheet 4: Leadership 
ROAN Info Sheet 5: STPs  
ROAN Info Sheet 6: GPs working abroad  
ROAN Info Sheet 7: Scheduling appraisal for short-term doctors  
ROAN Info Sheet 8: Confidentiality of appraisal reflection see also 12 
ROAN Info Sheet 9: Appraisal skills video 
ROAN Info Sheet 10: Incapacitated appraiser 
ROAN Info Sheet 11: Doctors new to the UK  
ROAN Info Sheet 12: Written reflective practice in appraisals see also 8  
ROAN Info Sheet 13: Clinical governance in the new NHS 
ROAN Info Sheet 14: Patient feedback during 2nd cycle 
ROAN Info Sheet 15: Minimising paperwork  
ROAN Info Sheet 16a: RO function and GDPR all DBs 
ROAN Info Sheet 16b: RO function and GDPR NHS England 
ROAN Info Sheet 17: MD RO Joint Role  
ROAN Info Sheet 18: Guidance for exceptional appraiser travel expenses 
ROAN Info Sheet 19: Appraisal for doctors temporarily out of training
ROAN Info Sheet 20a: GP career support - experienced GPs 
ROAN Info Sheet 20b: GP career support - career break, returners, leavers 
ROAN Info Sheet 20c: GP career support - newly qualified and first fives 
ROAN Info Sheet 20d: GP career support - wellbeing 
ROAN Info Sheet 21: Reviewing all roles in scope of work ​

The GMC website says that the average time for licence restoration during the period from August 2016 to August 2017 was 22 days. And that you can apply for restoration up to three months in advance.
 
The following links may assist re the restoration of a licence:
 
https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/managing-your-registration/revalidation/revalidation-resources/revalidation-licence-to-practise-withdrawing-giving-up-restoring-appeals/licence-restoration
 
https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/managing-your-registration/changing-your-status-on-the-register/apply-for-or-restore-a-licence-to-practise
 

The rapid review report into gross negligence manslaughter was published on 11th June 2018. In a statement to parliament,  Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said, “I accept the recommendations in full”. 

The report is clear and easy to digest. 

13th August 2018: 
​Dr Bawa-Garba wins appeal against GMC (BBC, August 2018) and will be restored to the medical register after her suspension has expired.

"Following feedback from doctors and others we’ve updated our guidance on what’s required for appraisal for revalidation – our Guidance on supporting information for appraisal and revalidation (GMC, March 2018).

We’ve not changed the information you need to collect and reflect on, but have updated our guidance to try and make it more helpful. 

Key improvements include:

• More guidance on the balance between the quality and quantity of supporting information needed for appraisal for revalidation so you don’t feel pressured to gather too much evidence
• Explaining that we do not set either a minimum or a maximum quantity of supporting information that you need to collect
• Emphasising that, although you must participate in a whole practice appraisal every year unless there are mitigating circumstances preventing you from doing so (for example if you were on long term sick or on maternity leave), it should be a developmental experience as appraisal and revalidation are not pass or fail exercises
• More information about how you should collect feedback from colleagues, including how colleagues should be selected
• Reinforcing the importance of doctors who have multiple roles gathering and reflecting on information that covers the whole of their practice.
• A new section to provide clearer guidance on our requirements for doctors in training and more direction for doctors who may find collecting certain aspects of supporting information difficult."

Written reflective practice in appraisals (NHSE, 15 02 2018) is a letter to provide clarification over the use of written reflective practice in appraisals.

​This follows recent (December 2017) high profile discussion of this topic following the tragic death of a young boy, Jack Adcock, and the subsequent legal proceedings against Dr Bawa-Garba.

​The Medical Director for NHS England (South South West), Dr Caroline Gamlin issued an email "Key messages arising from the High Court" (NHSE SSW, 13 02 2018) containing Confidentiality of reflections for appraisal guidance (NHSE SSW, 13 02 2018).

​13th August 2018: 
​Dr Bawa-Garba wins appeal against GMC (BBC, August 2018) and will be restored to the medical register after her suspension has expired.

The folk at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges​ have published a paper with the snappy title, "Improving feedback and reflection to improve learning A practical guide for trainees and trainers".

It is clearly aimed at doctors who are in training posts and their trainers, but the pages on "Guidance on reflection" (p.7) and "Guidance on feedback" (p8) are well worth a read.

Insights include,

• reflection is a cyclical process
• feedback from the trainer [appraiser?] is important
• calibration by the trainer [appraiser?] is important
• "Without feedback, reflection amounts only to teaching oneself." 

​

Each year the doctor should send you last year's summary and PDP, but some don't. In my experience most don't.

If you were last year's appraiser it isn't difficult to view last year's documents in the revalidation management system (RMS). Just go to "Acting as Appraiser" then click on "View".

At the top of the page select last year's tab and you should be able to download any documents which are there.

However, if you were NOT their appraiser for last year, that route is blocked, for some mysterious reason. 

But it is possible by following the instructions in this PowerPoint presentation:
How to view last year's documents in RMS (Simon Barton, 2019).

One caveat though: if the doctor had his or her revalidation after last year's appraisal this method probably won't work.