UK GPs will have to show they are fit to practise

GPs' leaders in the United Kingdom have published criteria that will help the profession and patients to identify both excellent and unacceptable family doctors.

Based on guidance from the General Medical Council, Good Medical Practice for General Practitioners and another consultation document, Revalidation for Clinical General Practice, are responses to the GMC's decision that doctors in all disciplines must show on a regular basis that they are fit to practise.

According to the criteria, drawn up by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the BMA's General Practitioners Committee (GPC), and other organisations of GPs, together with lay input, an excellent GP is one who:

• Has a satisfactory complaints procedure;

• Possesses appropriate diagnostic and treatment equipment;

• Keeps records up to date and colleagues informed;

• Provides satisfactory access to patients;

• Is able to work in a team; and

• Uses resources effectively.

Unacceptable doctors may have telephone lines that are frequently engaged; do not respect confidentiality or listen to patients' concerns; may have restricted opening hours; may stock out of date drugs; and may assume that patients consent to treatment without asking.

Although most GPs will satisfy the criteria for revalidation, some will not, and they will have to be visited and assessed. The few GPs who are not considered acceptable for revalidation will be offered an assessment and remedial support.

Any GP who does not respond to remedial support will be reported to the GMC, which may invoke its fitness to practise procedures.

The RCGP and the GPC envisage revalidation as a continuing process and recommend that GPs should collect information on their performance between submissions to remain on the register.

The final structures will depend on the GMC's decisions and resources, but the GPs' representatives envisage a combination of methods such as self assessment and peer review.

Good Medical Practice for General Practitioners and Revalidation for Clinical General Practice are on the Royal College of General Practitioner's website (http://www.rcgp.org.uk/).