Although as a GP you remain responsible for ensuring that you carry out appropriate CPD to keep up to date and meet the requirements of appraisal and revalidation, most chambers organise education and SEA meetings.

Many challenges locum GPs face in relation to revalidation and appraisal relate to their isolation from other GPs, and from the organisational structures that come with working in a practice on a regular basis. 

Being part of a chambers can help with this in two main ways:

Firstly, it can help locums to feel less isolated with, for example, meetings to discuss significant events, or less formal discussions which help locums learn from their experiences.

Secondly, the organisational structure provided by the chambers can help locums collect the information needed for appraisal and therefore revalidation purposes – a prime example is patient feedback, and colleagues who are readily available to provide colleague feedback.

While the chambers model can provide this help and support, we do not believe that the appraisal and the revalidation processes should be structured around the assumption that locums will be part of a chambers organisation.

All NHS GPs have to be on NHS England’s performers list in order to carry out their work, and NHS England is responsible for carrying out appraisal for all GPs on its performers list.