The General and Specialist Medical Practice (Education, Training and Qualifications) Order 2003

Specialist qualifications

20.—(1) Pursuant to article 42 of the Directive, in relation to specialist qualifications, there shall be two competent authorities in the United Kingdom for the purposes of Title II and Title III of the Directive—

(a) the GMC is hereby designated as the competent authority for the purposes of the recognition and registration of specialist qualifications; and

(b) subject to article 3(12), the Board is hereby designated as the competent authority for the purposes of specialist training and the issue of CCTs and certain other certificates.

(2) In addition to the functions conferred upon it elsewhere in this Order, the GMC shall, in the event of justified doubts, perform the function of requiring the competent authority of another Member State that has awarded a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualification to confirm its authenticity and to confirm that the holder of the diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualification has fulfilled the Directive’s minimum training requirements.

(3) In addition to the functions conferred upon it elsewhere in this Order, the Board shall perform the following functions of a Member State or its competent authorities or bodies which derive from the Directive—

(a) under article 8 of the Directive—

(i) the function of assessing the content and duration of specialist training of an EEA national who holds a specialist qualification awarded by a Member State in a specialty in which the United Kingdom does not award a CCT,

(ii) the function of taking into account the content and duration of the specialist training of the person concerned, together with that person’s professional experience, additional training and continuing medical education, in determining what, if any, additional training that person must complete in order to obtain a CCT in a specified United Kingdom specialty,

(iii) the function of communicating its decision to the person concerned within four months of the date on which that person submits his application for a CCT, together with full supporting documentation, and

(iv) the function of awarding CCTs to EEA nationals in accordance with the requirements of article 8;

(b) where required to do so by another EEA State, the function of issuing certificates to specialists as set out in article 9(2) of the Directive, which requires certificates to be issued to persons holding a specialist qualification that does not satisfy all the minimum training requirements laid down by the Directive and was awarded following training begun before the relevant date (which has the same meaning as in article 15(2)), where either—

(i) that qualification was awarded by the United Kingdom, or

(ii) the person holding that qualification has subsequently become established in the United Kingdom,

stating that, where applicable, the holder has been engaged in the practice of his specialty for at least the period required by article 9(2) of the Directive;

(c) the function of issuing certificates of fulfilment of Directive training requirements in respect of specialist qualifications which do not conform with the designations set out in the Directive; and

(d) where a request is received from another Member State, the function of confirming authenticity of a CCT and of confirming that a person holding a CCT has fulfilled the Directive’s minimum training requirements.