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Letter of the week: Not all appraisal IT is as bad as revalidation’s

I would like to air an experience of online appraisal differing greatly from that described in the pilots of revalidation (‘Revalidation pilots find process "unworkable")

I admit to some difficulty getting going on the new-look site we have used in Wales since last year, but this was mostly down to initial unfamiliarity with the new layout.

The background procedure is basically the same as it has been for the last five years, with improvements continuing year on year by developers down at the Cardiff academic department of general practice, via feedback from users like myself. I feel our system is ready for revalidation next year, although of course it will continue to undergo development.

I have noted issues with compatibility with certain operating systems, but upload speed is excellent. I am happy with confidentiality, and confident I can choose which items of my appraisal I wish to make available to the general community of users or not.

I wonder if there is some duplicity in the pilot design for revalidation, with perhaps some systems not being as user-friendly as the Welsh one? If so, I hope users will be able to have a look at and learn the feel of the Welsh one before all pilots are discarded. I think it is good.

From Dr David Church, Machynlleth, Powys