Quick answer
Once you gain your CCT and join the GP performers list, you become responsible for annual medical appraisal as an independent GP. You should be offered your first appraisal within your first year of practice. Your training portfolio does not carry over, but the PDP agreed at your final ESR becomes the starting PDP for your first year. Start collecting evidence from day one; it is far easier than reconstructing it at month eleven.
The steps after CCT, in order
| Step | What happens | Your action |
|---|---|---|
| 1. CCT awarded | You can practise independently | Keep your CCT documentation safe |
| 2. Performers list | You must be on a GP performers list to practise (in England this is recorded in PCSE) | Update your performer status in PCSE Online |
| 3. Designated body assigned | Your region’s team becomes responsible for your appraisal | Check you know who your responsible officer is |
| 4. First appraisal | Offered within your first year of practice | If you have heard nothing after a few months, contact your regional appraisal team; chasing it is your responsibility |
| 5. Revalidation cycle | Your appraisals feed your revalidation recommendation | Just keep up the annual cycle |
Sources: RCGP, performers list guidance; NHS England GP training (HEE), post-CCT appraisal and revalidation.
What your first appraisal actually covers
Your first post-CCT appraisal is not a resit of training. Appraisers know you are newly qualified. Expect a supportive discussion built around:
- Your transition into independent practice: what has gone well, what has been hard
- Your whole scope of practice, including locum and out-of-hours sessions
- The PDP you agreed at your final ESR, which becomes your first-year PDP
- The GMC’s six types of supporting information, collected proportionately for year one
For the full breakdown of the six types, see our guide: What evidence do I need for my GP appraisal?
Evidence habits worth starting in week one
- Log CPD as you go, with one or two lines of reflection while it is fresh
- Keep a session log if you locum; scope of practice is much easier to describe from a record than from memory
- Note significant events and complaints when they happen, not at appraisal time
- Know the cycle: patient feedback, colleague feedback and a quality improvement activity are each required at least once per five-year revalidation cycle
- Save compliments too; they count as supporting information
FAQ
When is my first appraisal after CCT?
You should be offered an appraisal within your first year of independent practice. If you have not heard from your regional appraisal team within a few months of joining the performers list, contact them; the responsibility to have an annual appraisal is yours.
Does my training ePortfolio carry over?
No. Your appraisal portfolio starts fresh. The exception is your PDP: the plan agreed at your final ESR becomes your PDP for your first year in practice.
Do I need patient and colleague feedback in year one?
Not usually in year one specifically. Formal patient feedback, colleague feedback and a quality improvement activity are each required at least once per five-year revalidation cycle. Plan them early rather than leaving all three to the final year.
I am only doing locum sessions. Do I still need an appraisal?
Yes. Annual appraisal covers your whole scope of practice whatever shape it takes, and staying on the performers list requires it.
GP Tools is free for GP registrars for the whole of training, and every doctor’s first 12 months are free after that; you can build the evidence habit before your first appraisal costs you anything. Portfolios follow NHS England’s Medical Appraisal Template, with the patient survey (PSQ) and MSF 360° feedback included. Register at gptools.org.