RCGP gives compensation to GP trainees affected by exam fiasco

GP trainees who were unable to complete a new component of the MRCGP exam due to an IT outage have received compensation from the RCGP.

Last year, a number of candidates had difficulties completing the Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA) after an issue with the IT system that the RCGP said was due to ‘an unprecedented outage by a global third-party component’.

At the time the BMA demanded financial compensation for the disruption and said that the RCGP ‘must recognise’ this would have had ‘a huge impact’ on candidate performance and morale.

Now the union’s GP registrars committee chair Dr Malinga Ratwatte has confirmed that an offer of compensation was made by the college, including free resits, free membership and gratis attendance to graduation ceremonies and the college conference, which was accepted by the affected trainees.

The RCGP told Pulse that it worked with candidates to come up with a ‘comprehensive’ package of enhanced member benefits for those affected and it was ‘pleased’ that the offer received a positive response.

In a speech addressing the UK LMC conference, Dr Ratwatte said: ‘In November 2023, the RCGP introduced the new simulated consultation assessment exam, replacing the previous RCA and CSA.

‘Unfortunately, due to technical disruption in November, a significant number of candidates were unable to complete their exam and were forced to resit.

‘This caused significant undue distress and as a result we wrote to the college making it clear that compensation must be given to those affected by this.

‘We are pleased to report that the offer of compensation was subsequently made, including free resits, free membership and gratis attendance to graduation ceremonies and the college conference. This offer has actually been accepted by those colleagues who are affected.’ 

A college spokesperson told Pulse: ‘While the temporary outage in November was not due to our college systems – but was caused by a global third-party component affecting most of Europe – we do not underestimate the impact and distress this has caused, and once again extend our apologies to those candidates affected.

‘We worked with candidates, the wider training community and colleagues across the college to come up with a comprehensive package of enhanced member benefits for those affected and are pleased that our offer has received such a positive response.

‘Completion rates for the SCA are in excess of 99% and we are continuing to look at ways of making the examination experience as positive as possible for candidates while ensuring high standards of patient safety.’

The SCA involves twelve simulated consultations, each lasting 12 minutes, with cases performed by ‘professional role-players who are trained, calibrated and standardised’ so that although the cases appear the same for every trainee, the exam ‘responds to the approach of each individual doctor,’ as in real life.

Last year, the college faced criticism after GP trainees feared their preparation for the RCA part of their MRCGP exams was going to go to waste due to the college underestimating demand.