General Practitioners with extended roles

Request 866068253​

Does Jersey General Hospital allow General Practitioners with an Extended Responsibilities diploma to represent themselves and sign medical documentation as Consultants? Or does it rather follow the GMC Good Clinical Practice and NHS guidelines in that respect?

Thank you.

Response

Health and Care Jersey follow the U.K. model of best practice.

Any doctor with advanced training can support a speciality, though the title 'Consultant' would be reserved for those with appropriate specialist registration.

General Practitioners (GPs) may be on the Specialist Register as a GP and as a Specialist. To be on the Specialist Register, one must either complete a college training scheme or portfolio pathway; this requires more than a diploma – usually a membership or fellowship exam and prescribed competencies and experience.

The NHS and the General Medical Council (GMC) do allow Specialty, Associate Specialist and Specialist (SAS) doctors and GPs with additional competencies to 'act-up' as consultants; usually the doctor should use the nomenclature 'Acting Consultant'. Competencies to do so would include college membership or diplomas. SAS doctors in the Associate Specialist tier can also work independently in theatre or on-call consultant rotas.

As such, a GP could use the term 'Acting Consultant' (if holding a diploma and competency), or – if holding joint specialist registration – can be a Consultant as well as being an active GP on the Performers List.