The doctors will take part in ten revalidation pilot studies across England and will be the first to try out a process, which will provide assurance on whether they are up to date with medical advances and fit to practice.

The pilot studies are a key stage towards the introduction of a new system in which all doctors practicing in the UK will need to have their licences revalidated by the General Medical Council every five years.

The pilots, which will cover doctors working in a wide range of NHS healthcare settings and differing regions across England, will:

• test the role of the responsible officer - the senior doctor with local responsibility for overseeing the revalidation process
• test the proposals for a strengthened form of medical appraisal
• look at the role of the Medical Royal Colleges or Faculties to support revalidation.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said:

'These pilots will provide the NHS with the opportunity to test out how the new system should work in practice.

'Revalidation will provide the scrutiny that patients rightly expect and provide assurance that the doctor who is treating them is keeping up to date and has all the skills and competencies necessary to do a good job.

'It will also help support doctors to reflect on their practice, continue to develop their skills and enable them to access professional development throughout their careers.'

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