In 2010 the Medical Appraisal Team (formerly the GP Appraisal Team) assumed responsibility for Appraisal in both Primary and Secondary care in Scotland.
The Scottish Medical Appraisal Scheme has been developed by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in conjunction with a number of partners, including the Scottish Government, the BMA, and the Royal College of General Practitioners; to support all doctors in Scotland to meet the requirements of Appraisal and Revalidation, based on the GMC’s Good Medical Practice.
Regardless of whether you are a GP or a consultant, annual Appraisal is a contractual obligation and it plays an essential part in the process of Revalidation. All doctors are asked to reflect and review the entirety of their practice (since their last appraisal meeting), provide the relevant supporting information and complete the appraisal forms which will shape the discussions with the Appraiser.
SOAR is an online system that has been developed by NES in collaboration with other stakeholders to support and guide doctors in their appraisals.
The Scottish Government has identified SOAR as the electronic tool to be used as a single platform approach to Appraisal and Revalidation for doctors working in Scotland.
The Scottish Medical Appraisal Scheme is managed at a national level by NES' Medical Appraisal Scotland team (formerly GP Appraisal). The team provides support in a number of critical areas, including:
Working in collaboration with the health boards, NES runs a full schedule of Appraiser training courses to meet national demands for Appraisers. It has been agreed at a national level that all appraisals in Scotland have to be conducted by a NES-trained Appraiser.
NES is also responsible for the continued development of SOAR to meet the on-going requirements of Appraisal and Revalidation.
Within each health board, there will be local infrastructure in place to manage appraisal and revalidation. Responsible Officers (in Scotland it’s usually the health board’s Medical Director) are tasked with making recommendations for revalidation of their health board’s doctors. The boards also have Appraisal Leads for Primary and Secondary Care who are tasked with managing and quality assuring the processes in place; supported by their respective administrative teams.
Medical Appraisal Scotland works closely with the health boards, and provides support and training with SOAR; liaising with regard to Appraiser Training requirements; and coordinates the development and monitoring of the appraisal scheme itself.
We run regular Appraisal Leads and Health Board Administrators meetings respectively to support their development and offer a platform for networking and sharing of good practices. We also run an annual conference to support continuing development for our NES-trained Medical Appraisers.
For more information, please visit the Medical Appraisal Scotland website, where you will also find a link to SOAR.
Medical Appraisal Scotland (www.appraisal.nes.scot.nhs.uk)
GPCPD Connect (http://www.cpdconnect.nhs.scot)
GMC Good Medical Practice guidance (http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/index.asp)
This page was last updated on: 22.06.2022 at 12.11
