I am delighted to have been invited to write the foreword for this year’s report.

We are all justifiably proud of the quality of clinical care that is provided across NHS Scotland. An essential component of this care is the availability of a highly trained and dedicated workforce. NES play a key role in developing the medical workforce by ensuring that we have the highest standards of post graduate education and training. We cannot however be complacent, and patients quite properly want to be reassured that doctors are up to date and fit to practise.

NES plays a key
role in developing the medical workforce by ensuring that we have the highest standards of post graduate education and training."

Medical revalidation is a relatively recent initiative that seeks to provide this reassurance.  It is based upon five annual appraisals conducted in the workplace and crucially includes both patient and peer feedback.  We have developed an especially robust appraisal process in Scotland for this purpose. Our appraisers are all trained to a uniform standard by NES and independently allocated to appraisees.  NES has also pioneered an electronic system (SOAR) to support appraisal that is much envied outwith Scotland.