The Professional Standards Team lead the improvement and development of systems and processes to support NHS England’s responsibility to manage the NHS Performers Lists (England).

The Performers Lists provide the regulatory framework to ensure that medical, dental and ophthalmic practitioners who contract with NHS England are qualified and competent to provide safe and effective primary medical, dental and ophthalmic services.

The Performers Lists Regulations can be found here – The National Health Service (Performers Lists) (England) Regulations 2013

Policy for managing applications to join the England performers lists

This document sets out the processes which must be followed by NHS England Regional teams when considering applications from primary care medical, dental, ophthalmic and ophthalmic medical practitioners to join the NHS England Performers Lists.

The policy can be found here – Policy for managing applications to join the England performers lists.

Responding to concerns

NHS England has a statutory responsibility to respond to concerns raised about a GP, dentist or ophthalmic performer on the National Performers Lists.

The Professional Standards team provide advice, guidance and training to regional teams in accordance with their statutory functions and the NHS England Policy on managing the NHS Performers Lists.

The framework can be found here – Policy on managing the NHS Performers Lists.

Performers List Amendments – Locally Employed Doctors

The 2024 Statutory Instrument number 575 came into effect on 27 May 2024 and amends the NHS (England) (Performers Lists) Regulations 2013, as previously amended and The NHS (GMS Contracts) Regulations 2015 and The NHS (PMS Agreements) Regulations 2015. The effect of this legislation is that doctors whose name is included on the GMC register (this includes doctors in training in any speciality and doctors who have been unsuccessful in passing their CCT) and are employed or connected to a designated body under Schedule, Part 1 of the Medical Profession (Responsible Officers) Regulation 2010 in England and Wales (this provision excludes doctors connected or registered with a designated body in Schedule, Part 1 in Scotland and Northern Ireland) will be able to deliver primary care services without being included on the England Medical Performers List. The bodies listed in Part 1 include but are not limited to national commissioning and oversight organisations, including NHS England, NHS Trusts and NHS Foundation Trusts.

The amendments to the regulations will permit primary care providers to employ doctors who are not GPs to deliver primary medical services under the terms of their contracts.  Primary care providers will need to ensure that the doctors that they employ are competent to undertake the role that they are appointed to. Primary care providers will also need to ensure that they provide appropriate supervision, support (and induction) plans to enable them to work safely. They will also be responsible for undertaking appropriate recruitment checks including DBS and GMC registration and right to work. Other checks such as occupational health clearance and BLS may also be required (information transfer using ESR or digital staff passporting methods are not available within primary care – recruitment checks may not be required if the designated body and doctor agree to another form of information sharing between the two parties).

In the event that the primary care provider has concerns about the doctor’s performance, it will be for them to manage the concern in line with their own HR policy as they would with any other member of staff.  Critically they will need to keep the doctor’s Responsible Officer (RO) informed of the concern and the action being taken together and, in due course, they may be required to share information as this may affect what, if any further action the doctor’s RO takes.

Under the terms of the primary medical care contract for services, doctors whose name is included on the GMC Register and the GP Register are still required to be included on the England Medical Performers List before they deliver primary care services.