I would like to reassure Richard MacMillan (’Revalidation should cover locums, says Pulse’, recruiter.co.uk, 19 October) that all licensed doctors, including locums, will need to have a Responsible Officer, take part in an annual appraisal, and to reflect on their practice.

We agree that introducing these regular checks for doctors is essential to ensuring high-quality care is delivered and patients are given further assurances about their doctors, as they rightly expect to happen.

We are committed to providing more detail about how revalidation will work for all doctors, including locums, and will continue to work with doctors, employers, patient groups and the four health departments to provide it.
Niall Dickson, chief executive, General Medical Council (GMC)