Appraisal and revalidation of responsible officers in England

All responsible officers will need to demonstrate, through appraisal and supporting information, that they are up to date and fit to practise in the role of responsible officer.

Following the introduction of The Medical Profession (Responsible Officer) Regulations came into force on 1 January 2011 and amended on 1 April 2013 (The Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) (Amendment) Regulations 2013) all designated bodies must nominate or appoint a responsible officer.

All responsible officers must be medical practitioners and, at appointment, must have been fully registered under the Medical Act 1983 continuously for the previous five years. They must continue to be fully registered whilst undertaking the role of responsible officer. They will need to demonstrate through appraisal and supporting information that they are up to date and fit to practise in the role of responsible officer.

Each RO has a prescribed connection to NHS England or Department of Health. The higher level RO will submit revalidation recommendations to the GMC for all ROs connected to them. The recommendation will be based, as it is for all doctors, on information from appraisal and from routine monitoring of performance and fitness to practise.

Higher Level Responsible Officer Check-list

To promote consistency in making recommendations, NHS England have produced a checklist for use by higher level responsible officers that is available here – this is part of a suite of templates that are available for higher level ROs on the NHS England Intranet.