"This is good news and reflects a great deal of hard work to prepare for medical revalidation. It shows that organisations in England will be able to support doctors with their revalidation from the end of this year.
"It is another significant milestone and we expect to see similar reports from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland over the next month which will give patients and all those involved the confidence that revalidation can get underway."
Niall Dickson, GMC chief executive
"We are delighted with the progress employers have made to get ready for revalidation. The introduction of regular tests and more appraisals for doctors will be a milestone which should reassure the public that their medical care is up to date, safe and effective.
"Employers will ensure that all doctors are engaged with the process and have access to appraisals, which will become a mandatory part of retaining their licence to practise. Revalidation has been a long time in the making and we now need to take the final step and get it up and running. We would welcome a decision by the Government to begin revalidation before the end of 2012."
Dean Royles, director of NHS Employers
"Every designated body was asked to produce an action plan by the end of July to ensure their systems would be ready by December this year, when revalidation is due to commence. At the NHS Revalidation Support Team we are working closely with the SHA clusters to support and assure this process and are confident that the healthcare sector will rise to this challenge."
Dr Anita Donley, medical director at the NHS Revalidation Support Team
"It is good to see that the vast majority of doctors are linked to organisations that are ready to support them with revalidation. It is important that we regularly review that doctors are fit to practise to ensure patients continue to receive the best treatment possible."
Health secretary Andrew Lansley
