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Information on this page relates to the ARCPs for both sectors of NHS England – North West.
In accordance with GMC and Gold Guide requirements, every doctor, including Less Than Full Time (LTFT) Resident Doctors, must have an ARCP at least once every 12 calendar months. For LTFT Resident Doctors this may mean you have multiple ARCPs during a single grade year.
ARCPs may not align with the end of your training grade year, unless you are approaching a 'critical progression point' where a formal progression decision is required. ARCPs at other times will assess requirements based on the amount of Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) of training time completed.
LTFT Resident Doctors are usually expected to progress in-line with their LTFT working percentage and WTE of training time worked, and ARCP requirements should usually be adjusted, pro-rata, accordingly.
Progression at a rate faster than the standard WTE rate, whether full-time or LTFT, is considered an acceleration of training and acceleration principles apply. Please see the 'Acceleration of training' section on the School of Surgery ARCP page for further details.
For a full guide of the standard NHS England – North West process for ARCPs please visit our policies and procedures page:
You may be asked to attend an Interim Progress Review (IPR), this may be following your ARCP or half way through the training year. Interim Progress Reviews are 'in-person' meetings with your TPD to review and feedback about your progress, and for you to feedback about the training programme.
Please note
NHS England – North West administration teams are not involved in the organisation of IPRs - please contact your TPD for information or if you have any queries.
Surgical training programmes are divided into three phases: Phase 1 (end of Core Surgical Training), Phase 2 and Phase 3. The end of each phase represents a critical progression point, where resident doctors must demonstrate that they have achieved the required standards to progress to the next stage of training.
These standards are assessed primarily through the level of supervision achieved for the relevant Capabilities in Practice (CiPs), as evidenced in the Multiple Consultant Report (MCR). Depending on the specialty, resident doctors may also be required to achieve minimum Indicative Numbers and/or complete specified Index Procedures.
For Plastic Surgery, resident doctors who successfully meet the requirements at the end of Phase 2 (end of ST6) can be signed off to sit the FRCS examination.
Full details of the minimum requirements for progression can be found within the relevant curriculum on the ISCP website:
End of Phase 2 (end of ST6) requirements
Certification (CCT) requirements
Plastic Surgery ARCP Requirements
Learning Agreement (LA) and Multi Consultant Report (MCR) suggested timeline
ARCP Assessment Panel
Date: 10 December 2026 added 26 August 2026
Deadline for Evidence Upload: 7 working days before the ARCP Assessment Panel
ARCP Feedback Panel
Date: TBC January 2027
Venue: Online via Microsoft Teams
Ad-hoc ARCPs and Interim Reviews for individual doctors may take place on other dates, affected doctors will be notified by email.
Please note that the above dates are subject to change; if there are any amendments these will be reflected on the website as soon as possible.
The Form R is a mandatory requirement from the GMC for all ARCPs.
Only 'Part B' of the Form R needs to be completed for every ARCP (the Form R is not required for Interim Progress Reviews and the Form R 'Part A' is not required for ARCPs in NHS England – North West).
The Form R must be completed within 8 weeks of the ARCP and by the deadline for evidence submission. If a 'Form R (Part B)' has not been completed within the 8 weeks prior to the ARCP Assessment panel, the panel will be unable to issue a satisfactory outcome.
It is important any ongoing or closed investigations/complaints since your last 'Form R (Part B)' are included.
You must make sure that all parts of the 'Form R (Part B)' are fully completed including the scope of practice section.
The Scope of Practice should include:
Important
From August 2022, all Form Rs must be completed via TIS Self Service (TSS). Old style form Rs (Word or PDF versions) will not be accepted.
To use TSS you must first sign up using the email address that NHS England – have recorded for you. Trying to sign up with any other email address means the sign up process will fail.
More Information on TSS and the Form R
Page last updated: 13 October 2026