The Follet Principles and GP appraisal

The Follet principles apply to senior academic GPs.

​"A senior academic GP is defined as a clinical academic specialising in Primary Care who has a substantive contract of employment with an HE institution at Senior Lecturer level or above and is considered to be undertaking duties and responsibilities commensurate with consultant clinical academic staff. 

S/he will be a registered general practitioner and practising clinician normally based in an undergraduate medical school. 

In addition, a senior academic GP will normally but not necessarily have an honorary contract with a partner NHS Trust and be expected to take part in joint job planning and joint appraisal."

​"[The Follet] principles are embodied in the concept of job planning and the single integrated Job Plan that will be agreed for a senior academic GP. 

The integrated job planning process ensures that all stakeholders have clarity about the duties that have been agreed for an individual senior academic GP. 

The integrated process also ensures joint working between the University and the NHS employers."

Guidance Notes for the Employment of Senior Academic GPs (England). August 2005. (NHSEmployers.org)

What are the Follet principles?

​The Follet principles arise from "A Review of Appraisal, Disciplinary and Reporting Arrangements for Senior NHS and University Staff with Academic and Clinical Duties" by Professor Sir Brian Follett and Michael Paulson-Ellis (Department for education and skills, September 2001)

​The summary of recommendations of the report includes:

1.    The substantive university contract and the honorary NHS contract for clinical academics should be interdependent (Paragraph 41).

2.    Universities and NHS bodies should work together to develop a jointly agreed annual appraisal and performance review process based on that for NHS consultants, to meet the needs of both partners (Paragraphs 46-60).


​3.    The process should:

     a.    involve a decision on whether single or joint appraisal is appropriate for every senior NHS and university staff member with academic and clinical duties;

     b.    ensure joint appraisal for clinical academics holding honorary consultant contracts and for NHS staff undertaking substantial roles in universities;

     c.    define joint appraisal as two appraisers, one from the university and one from the NHS, working with one appraisee on a single occasion;

     d.    require a structured input from the other partner where a single appraiser acts;

     e.    be based on a single set of documents; and

     f.     start with a joint induction for those who will be jointly appraised (Paragraphs 51-60).