Dear Doctor,

We have been instructed by the Medical Council to forward correspondence click here to all Registered Medical Practitioners enrolled on our Professional Competence Scheme (PCS).  This letter describes important changes to the operation of the scheme that come into effect immediately.  We realize that these changes are coming at very short notice and we have discussed this with the Medical Council.

During the 2019 retention of registration process, you will be asked to declare (by selecting Yes/No)

1. ‘I am enrolled in a professional competence scheme in Ireland and have paid my Scheme enrolment fee for the scheme year 2019-2020’ [YES/NO]

AND

2. ‘My annual statement of participation as of May 2019 demonstrates that I am meeting my ongoing maintenance of professional competence requirements’ [YES/NO]

You should only select YES to statement 1 if you are enrolled in PCS and have paid your fee for the year beginning May 1 2019. You should only select YES to statement 2 if your annual statement of participation for 2018-2019 clearly states that you have met all the professional competence requirements set out in detail in our online guide (20 credits each in the external and internal categories, a minimum of 5 credits in the personal learning category and a total of at least 50 CPD credits). You are also expected to have completed an audit relevant to your scope of practice during the 2018-2019 PCS year. However, in the explanatory memorandum click here for the Training Bodies, you will see that the Medical Council do not intend to enforce this requirement with regard to Audit at the current time due to confusion regarding Data Protection regulations.

If you have not enrolled, re-enrolled or paid your fee for the 2019-2020 year of professional competence scheme, you should complete this process with RCSI before completing the Annual Retention Statements for the Medical Council. Otherwise, you must select No to statement 1 and the Medical Council will direct you further and may take regulatory action against you.  Please note RCSI PCS enrolment for 1^st May 2019 – 30^th April 2020 opens on 1^st May 2019. 

If you did not meet the minimum requirements in the year ending 30 April 2019, you should select NO to  declaration 2. Your status is visible on your PCS dashboard (https://pcs.rcsi.ie/) but if you wish for advice on your status, please contact RCSI before completing the Annual retention process. If you select No to statement 2, the Medical Council will confirm this with you and have stated that they will direct you to contact RCSI PCS for advice and support on becoming compliant this year. If you were ill or on maternity leave and could not meet the requirements, we advise that you should tick NO to  declaration 2 as, while there are extenuating circumstances, you are not compliant with the requirements. If you are unable to meet your requirements because of an absence from practice of three months or greater due to illness or maternity leave, please contact the professional competence office (pcs@rcsi.ie) in advance and we will arrange for you to complete a separate declaration to this effect before the end of the year and annotate your Annual Statement of Participation.

After the annual retention process is complete, the Medical Council will require RCSI (and all training bodies) to provide (1) the registration numbers of all those who have enrolled/re-enrolled and paid the fee for 2019-2020 and (2) the registration numbers of all those who have not met the minimum PCS requirements for 2018-2019. Doctors who make a false declaration in the annual retention process may be subject to regulatory action which could result in sanction, limitations on your practice, suspension or erasure from the register. Once the Medical Council initiate regulatory action, we will not be able to assist you with this process and we advise that you respond to all communications from the Medical Council with the benefit of appropriate legal advice.

While the Medical Council have indicated to us that they do not intend to take regulatory action against those who truthfully declare that they are not compliant with the requirements, you will be in breach of your obligations under the Medical Practitioners Act and this could result in regulatory action against you.

If you require further advice on the operation of the Professional Competence Scheme or support in meeting the requirements, please contact us at (pcs@rcsi.ie) or consult our website. If you have any queries about the annual retention process or other matters relating to your registration, you should contact the Medical Council directly. RCSI is engaging with the Medical Council in relation to the impact of these new requirements and will update you immediately if there are any material changes.