But Keith Pearson, chairman of the GMC's UK Revalidation Programme Board, said it was ‘too soon' to set a final date when the revalidation roll-out will be complete.
The GMC insists that revalidation will be phased in only when local systems are ready. ‘It is not a big bang,' Mr Pearson said.
But GMC chairman Professor Peter Rubin said he expected trusts to fall in quite rapidly: ‘Once it's obvious that revalidation is real and some trusts have gone for it, others will want to catch up. It's a real reputational issue.'
Trusts that want to ‘shadow' revalidation in anticipation of roll-out would be ‘encouraged' to do so, Mr Pearson said.
The timeline shows that toughened appraisals are expected in all four countries of the UK by the spring of 2011. Responsible officers, who will take yes/no revalidation decisions for doctors on their patch, will be in post by autumn 2010.
Remediation systems for doctors who fail revalidation will be in place by the summer of 2011.
But the GMC admits that timing is uncertain until trusts start to deliver the revalidation package. Mr Pearson said: ‘Early adopters will provide the sense of what it feels like in an organisation.
‘I want to hear next year from delivery boards about those organisations in their areas that want to be early adopters.'
prisca.middlemiss@haymarket.com
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