American Hospital Dubai establishes the first and only recognised General Medical Council (GMC)-approved appraisal and revalidation service outside the United Kingdom for UK-licensed medical doctors wanting to practice overseas. This service allows UK-licensed doctors to practice abroad while maintaining their GMC registration and license.
The initiative is another step by American Hospital Dubai in its commitment to promoting progressive medicine and supporting the medical fraternity to expand its quality care.
The UK's General Medical Council, which aims to protect patient safety and improve medical education and practice across the UK, maintains the country's medical register and issues licenses to doctors to practice medicine in the country, with a mandatory yearly appraisal and license revalidation every five years.
Doctors revalidate their GMC registration through annual appraisals of Good Medical Practice (GMP) and a five-yearly recommendation from their responsible officer or senior based on their assessments. However, when working abroad, with no direct connection to a responsible officer, they risk losing their license to practice.
American Hospital Dubai's (GMC)-approved appraisal and revalidation service will collaborate with the GMC appraisals represented by Professors Fahed Youssef and Abdallah Raweh, GMC-recognised responsible officer, and senior appraiser, respectively. They will operate under service director Dr Jalal bin Saeid, physician, American Hospital Dubai, and UK-qualified consultant cardiothoracic surgeon.
An experienced team will deliver the service for revalidation as part of the licensing requirement in coordination with a designated body in the UK.
Speaking on the initiative, Sherif Beshara, group CEO of American Hospital Dubai, said: "We recognise the need to support UK-licensed medical doctors to maintain their status while working in the UAE, GCC, MENA region, Asia or elsewhere. Therefore, American Hospital Dubai took the necessary steps to initiate the first and only recognised GMC-approved appraisal and revalidation service outside the United Kingdom."
"Our mission and vision are to strengthen medical care and expand its reach. As healthcare leaders, we are committed to our role as enablers of progress and will continue to pursue more avenues to help the medical fraternity serve humanity better."