Only 3% of doctors have yet to specify whether they want a licence to practise to the GMC a head of its 16 November licensing deadline.
In the first significant step towards revalidation, 220,000 doctors in the UK were asked to let the GMC know whether they required registration with or without a licence to practise.
In total, 97%, over 213,000 doctors, made their choice. Two hundred thousand doctors have chosen to hold registration with a licence and 13,500 doctors have chosen to be registered without a licence.
The minority of doctors who have not let the GMC know their decision will be granted a licence when licensing is introduced on 16 November 2009.
From this date, in order to practise medicine in the UK, a doctor will have to be registered with the GMC and hold a licence to practise.
The GMC said those doctors who have informed them need do nothing more. Letters have been sent to all doctors who have responded to the campaign confirming their decisions and that their registration will be updated on 16 November to reflect whether or not they hold a licence to practise. This will also be shown on the GMC website.
Professor Peter Rubin, chair of the GMC, said: “The introduction of licensing on the 16 November is the first practical step towards the introduction of revalidation. The first revalidations are likely to begin in 2011 and will mean that all doctors are regularly demonstrating to the GMC that their skills and knowledge are up to date to do the job they do.”
Read a guide on revalidation.
Tags: GMC, Licence to practise, Revalidation
