Doctors will soon be regularly revalidated. The cycle of revalidation is 5 years and, much like an MOT, will make sure we are all road-worthy. The current system focusses on making sure GPs do regular educational updates, review their patient care and show how they have improved it, take part in an appraisal with a senior doctor each year and seek the views of their patients and colleagues on their performance.
Having gone through the system for a few years now, I welcome the recognition of my efforts to stay up to date across the wide range of specialities GPs cover. We spend quite a lot of time at RMC looking at patient care and trying to improve on what we do: the dispensary has a 'near miss' book similar to the system used by airline pilots in order to try and recognise error and implement changes to prevent mistakes and protect patients (most pharmacies have an estimated 1% error rate); as a practice we review all significant events, complaints and diagnoses of serious illnesses, such as cancer, to see if there is anything we can learn and improve on in the future; all members of the practice produce audits each year in their area of work, again to make sure we perform to a high a standard as possible.
Our patients can help to make this revalidation practice effective by letting us know when their care is good, when their care is not as good as they would expect, reporting when things go wrong and giving their views in national questionnaires and surveys.
A lot of the data on the practice is available through the NHS website, and in coming months, I hope to publish further information, beyond the statutory requirements to hopefully allow our patients to see the work behind the scenes.
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There is I believe plenty of evidence that robust performance appraisal does lead to improvement but a 5 year cycle does seem rather long; most professionals would be appraised annually. On the question of patient feedback, which is clearly beneficial, perhaps you should conduct your own patient survey for say a couple of weeks twice a year? You would need the views of about 100 people I think to get a representative sample.
ReplyDeleteThe appraisals will continue to be done annually for all GPs, but the revalidation and license to practice will only be reviewed every 5 years (subject to satisfactory appraisals). We may run a survey as you suggest later on in the year, although the NHS already surveys patients chosen at random from the practice list.
ReplyDeleteOn behalf of Ervin and Elizabeth Berry
ReplyDelete1. You commendably welcome the annual review and audit of GP practices.
2 We agree that the utmost pressure must continue to be put on government by doctors and the public to increase taxation and regulation of alcohol and tobacco to safeguard health, especially of young people.
3. Much stricter control should be imposed on private 'for profit' nursing homes to prevent them dumping residents in expensive hospital beds due to lack of properly qualified and experienced staff.
4. Specific brands of medication should not be used by the NHS where cheaper, generic drugs can be used.
5. 'Over the counter medication' should be available in GP dispensaries where there is no convenient alternative source.
6. N.I.C.E. should be mandated to require pharmaceutical companies to publish all research and not just that which is favourable to a product.
7. A condition of NHS use of a drug should depend on the company producing it in this country paying adequate taxation in the UK.
8. We, both now in our eighties, have every reason to be grateful to the NHS for its excellent services both in our medical centre in Reeth and our local hospital (The Friarage) in Northallerton. We would like to encourage everyone to exercise their civic duty to ensure its survival.