GPs who wish to perform NHS primary medical services under a General Medical Services (GMS), Personal Medical Services (PMS) or Alternative Personal Medical Services (APMS) contract in England must be included on the NHS Medical Performers List (England). The statutory requirement for this is set out in the NHS Performers Lists (England) Regulations 2013, amended 2015.

NHS England has statutory responsibility for ensuring the suitability of those applying to join the Medical Performers List (MPL) and for ensuring that those included on the MPL remain suitable to perform services. NHS England has delegated the responsibility for the management of the MPL to the medical directors in local teams. The governance arrangements to support the management of the MPL is set out in NHS England’s Framework for Managing Performer Concerns, last updated in May 2018.

GPs who are included on the MPL must be able to provide evidence of continuing to work in an NHS primary medical care setting in the preceding twelve months in order for them to remain eligible for continued inclusion on the MPL. If a GP is unable to evidence this, NHS England may remove the GP from the MPL under Regulation 14(5). A GP may reapply to join the MPL at a later stage if they wish to return to working in a primary medical care setting. The MPL is a matter of public record and is used by members of the public and prospective employers to assure themselves that the GP is fit for purpose.

NHS England outsourced the management of the MPL to Primary Care Support England (PCSE) in 2015 and unfortunately, this resulted in processing delays and in some cases, the integrity of the MPL has been called into question. PCSE On Line went live on 2 December 2019 and this system has provided performers with the ability to make their application to join the MPL on line. The ‘transformed’ administration of the MPL is expected to bring efficiencies in the processing of applications to join the MPL and in maintaining the integrity of it.

International Induction Programme (IIP) and Return to Practice (RtP) programmes

The IIP and RtP programmes are in place across England for GPs returning to general practice who have not provided NHS primary medical services in the preceding twenty-four months. These GPs are not included in the English MPL and the process is managed by the Cheshire and Merseyside Team.

The remainder of this page sets out a different proposal to assist NHS England Medical Directors with access to the existing IIP and RtP tools to support GPs who for whatever reason have remained on the MPL, but who have not worked in an NHS primary medical care setting in the preceding twenty-four months. For this route, the GP and the Medical Director must have agreed that the GP needs to access the IIP and RtP tools to enable them to return safely back to NHS primary medical services.

Eligibility

To be eligible to register for the MPL Refresher Route, GPs must meet the following requirements:

  1. The GP must already be included on the England MPL without any conditions (NHS England or GMC) and without any known unresolved performance issues. If the GP is known to have solely health related conditions, this would not preclude them from registering for the programme.
  2. The GP must not have performed NHS primary medical services under a GMS, PMS, APMS contract in the preceding twenty-four months or more and this must be evidenced within the GP appraisal documentation.
  3. The GP and the Medical Director (or member of staff acting on behalf of the Medical Director) must have discussed and agreed that access to the IIP and RtP tools would support the safe return of the GP to primary medical care.

Access

GPs that meet these criteria and who have been approved to access the programme will be provided with access to the following support under the MPL Refresher Route:

  1. Free access to online refresher training materials and support tools
  2. Up to four fully funded attempts at the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) assessments
  3. Fully funded supervision at a designated HEE training practice for up to six months
  4. A monthly bursary of up to £3500 per month for the duration of their supervised placement

Application process

To access the MPL Refresher Route, the GP’s Medical Director (or delegated officer) should first contact NHS England’s GP Recruitment Programme and Policy Manager and provide the GP’s:

  1. name
  2. address
  3. email address
  4. GMC registration number
  5. confirmation that the GP meets the criteria set
  6. date they last practised
  7. summary of why they have not practised for twenty-four months or more
  8. confirmation that they have provided approval for the information above to be shared with HEE

This information will be reviewed to confirm eligibility for the MPL Refresher Route and if approved by the NHS England GP Recruitment Team, then shared with HEE’s GP National Recruitment Office (GPNRO).

The GPNRO will then send the GP (copying in the Medical Director) an application form to join the IIP and RtP. This should be completed by the GP and returned to the GPNRO who will then follow the standard IIP and RtP processes for the GP.

Management of the GP whilst undertaking the MPL Refresher Route

The GP’s Medical Director will be responsible for managing the processes associated with doctors who engage in the MPL Refresher Route. The Medical Director will receive confirmation of the doctor’s progress under the programme through to successful sign off from the programme.

The Medical Director will need to take account of the Framework for Managing Performer Concerns and the associated governance arrangements to ensure that in the event that a GP fails to pass the MCQ, or any other adverse event occurs during the placement that appropriate action is taken in accordance with the Performer List Regulations.

The Medical Director must be cognisant that the MPL is a matter of public record and that members of the public and prospective employers search the MPL to provide them with assurance that the doctor is suitable to work independently and provide the full range of primary medical services without any restriction.

Approval

The Professional Standards Delivery Group approved the introduction of the MPL Refresher route on 23 January 2020.

The new programme will be effective from 1 February 2020 and will only be applicable to applications made on or after this date.

Page last reviewed: 27 July 2022
Next review due: 27 July 2023