The National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS) has dealt with its highest number of referrals in a six month period, as NHS organisations prepare for revalidation.
The growth was seen among referrals of doctors, specifically (423 in April-September 2010, compared with 363 in the same period in 2009), according to recent NCAS figures. Director of NCAS, Professor Alastair Scotland, said: “I believe the statistics are linked to efforts by NHS organisations to strengthen governance systems in advance of medical revalidation coming into force, rather than an upsurge in performance problems”. In the six month period between April- September 2010, NHS organisations made 525 requests for advice on handling of concerns about practitioner performance. In 33 cases NCAS was asked for general advice about the most effective way of managing concerns but most of the requests, 492, were about the work of specific practitioners.
