The National Performers List Summary Guidance

To work in a general practice training placement as a GP trainee you are required to have “inclusion” on to the English National Performer List. (NPL)

As you are entering GP Specialty training in HEKSS you must join the English NPL even if you currently live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Once you have been accepted onto the NPL as a GP trainee this will remain valid for the duration of your training. On successful completion of training you must advise the NPL of your change of circumstance and change your registration to a qualified independent GP practitioner.

If you leave / exit before successful completion of training you must resign from the NPL.

Application Process

To apply for inclusion on the NPL you should go to the NPL website and complete the application form in full. The website also has an application guide and details all the documents you need to register. All documents you have to provide MUST be originals.

The website is accessed at:

Registration onto the NPL is the responsibility of the Local Office of the South Region for NHS England and you must be registered in the area where you will undertake the majority of your work in general practice. In HEKSS there is one regional team (the South of England Regional Team) which is further subdivided into NHS South SouthEast (which covers the majority of the region) and NHS South (Wessex area), and NHS South –South West (for trainees in the far west of the region) who will register you.

You will be required to have a face to face identity check and verification of your documents and you will be informed as to how this will be done when you start your application.

You MUST start the registration process BEFORE you actually start a placement in general practice. Failure to do so will result in you being unable to continue training until the NPL application process is completed and you will be placed Out of Programme. This will mean you not complete your training on schedule and during the Out of Programme time you will not be paid.

The application process does take time so should be started in advance (up to 8-12 weeks) of your GP placement. If the process is started before the placement but is not completed within 3 months from the start date of your GP placement you will have to cease training and as described above go out of programme until the registration is finalised: again this will impact on the duration of your training and you will not be paid.

Your inclusion on the NPL will be confirmed in writing and you should show this to your GP practice.

Guidance on Documents for NPL Registration

You should refer to the guidance on the NPL website for the most current guidance on what is required but below are a few key points which you need to be aware of:

Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate (DBS)

You must have current Enhanced DBS clearance to register on the NPL.

For trainees starting in an acute Trust or whoare part of the HEKSS SEAT employment contract you will have a pre-employment check undertakenby your employing Trust which will include a DBS check. If your first placement in GP training is a GP placement you will need to start these checks in advance to allow time for the DBS to be completed so you can make your NPL application BEFORE you start.

If you are not employed under the SEAT arrangement and your first placement is a GP placement again you must obtain a DBS check and start the NPL registration BEFORE you start.

DBS checks can take a number of weeks to complete (usually less than 4 weeks)

You are advised to subscribe to the online DBS service which for an annual small fee enables any number of DBS checks to be undertaken ( NB a new check within 3 months is required for the NPL). This should be activated within 19 days of receiving your DBS certificate. (Costs for this are borne by the individual trainee as are costs for any further DBS check required after the first pre-employment DBS check)

Occupational Health Screening

You will be required to provide an occupational health report from an approved occupational health service.

If you had OH screening at the start of your training and have been working under the supervision of a postgraduate dean without a break in service, you may seek your OH clearance certificate from the OH service which conducted your previous screening. If you have been undertaking foundation training without any break in service, you may seek your OH clearance certificate from the OH service which cleared you for foundation training, as long as the clearance includes Exposure Prone Procedures (EPP) clearance.

Proof of Residency

If you have lived outside the UK for any period within the 5 years prior to the date you make you application to the NPL you are required to have a police check undertaken in that country. You will need to pay for this and they can take time so plan ahead. (Holidays and short periods of study including standard medical electives where you were resident in the UK are unlikely to result in needing this)

Confirmation of proficiency in the English Language

If you trained outside a UK or Irish Medical School you will need to demonstrate that you have passed IELTS at 7.5 overall (with above 7.0 in each of the 4 components) undertaken at a single sitting within the last 2 years or a certificate of graduation or postgraduate training within the past two years from a recognised medical school taught and examined in English.

You also need to produce evidence of 3 months professional employment (within the last 2 years) in a country where English is the first language and evidence to attest to your proficiency documented in the references.

In exceptional cases you may be required to undertake a face to face English language assessment.

You will need to meet these requirements irrespective of any previous acceptance of English language proficiency requirements including those you may have submitted when you applied to GP specialty training.

Safeguarding Children

You will need to demonstrate Level 2 safeguarding at registration and must demonstrate Level 3 by completion of GP specialty training in order to register as an independent GP. Please be advised this position is under review and may be subject to change.

Published October 2015