I don’t think my colleague is up-to-date and I have concerns about patient safety. Will I be able to rely on revalidation to resolve this, rather than causing problems in the department by raising the concern myself?

Your duty to raise concerns about patient safety is unchanged. A Responsible Officer is only able to make positive recommendations about revalidation. Revalidation is separate to the GMC’s Fitness to Practise function, which investigates concerns about a doctor’s practice.

Any concerns about a colleague should be raised through the usual channels in your organisation, in accordance with the GMC guidance Raising and Acting on Concerns about Patient Safety (2012).