Completion of training
Upon successful completion of training you will be eligible for registration as a specialist on one of the Specialist Registers and eligible to apply for consultant and Director of Public Health posts in the UK.
FPH recommends the award of CCT to the GMC or the UKPHR when the final assessment forms- ARCP outcome 6 and the Completion of Training have been received and reviewed to ensure all CCT criteria have been met.
Registrars from a medical background are recommended to the General Medical Council (GMC) for inclusion on the Specialist Register, while those from other disciplines are recommended for registration with the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR).
For further information on the CCT process and preparing for the transition to consultant roles please refer to:
Important: Registrars should review their CCT paperwork ( ARCP forms and Completion of Training form) before submission to FPH to ensure that all requirements described are met and that the information captured on the Completion of Training form matches the information on the ARCP forms. Discrepancies in the forms can lead to significant delays in the processing of CCT requests.
Once completed CCT paperwork has been received by the Faculty, it can take up to 4 weeks to process the paperwork. On approval of CCT from the Faculty, a recommendation is sent to the GMC /UKPHR. Registrars will need to apply/pay fees to the GMC/UKPHR to get included onto their Specialist register. The processing time at GMC /UKPHR varies. We would therefore recommend that the CCT paperwork is sent to the Faculty 6-8 weeks before the CCT date to allow sufficient time for processing.
PLEASE NOTE: Since 2014 the GMC have imposed a time limit on CCT applications. Doctors are required to submit their applications within 12 months of their completion date in order to qualify for a CCT. After this point, they will be required to use the CESR route to apply directly to the GMC if they wish to attain Specialist Registration.
For further information please refer to the GMC guidance pages.
You will be required to pay a CCT fee (£500) and a membership fee, if you joined the training scheme prior to Summer 2016 and have either not taken up membership or you have allowed your membership to lapse.
The CCT fee is waived if you have three consecutive years of membership immediately prior to completion of training. If you were in membership but have left it lapse then you may consider reinstating your membership and paying fees retrospectively rather than paying the CCT fee.
In Autumn 2019 FPH Officers and the SRC agreed to encourage more STR’s to take up membership and relaxed the rules around CCT fees for those who enrolled prior to 2016.
- STR’s due to CCT in 2020 were invited to join membership in 2019
- STR’s due to CCT in 2021 and beyond were invited to join membership from Jan 2020
By joining membership you will pay the Training and Membership subscription fee and the CCT fee will be waived.
Under this agreement those already in the membership categories of STR or Diplomate were moved to the new Training and Membership fee on 1 January 2020.
STR’s who enrolled in training after the Training and Membership subscription fee was introduced in Autumn 2016 have committed to paying a smaller annual fee throughout training. This replaces the separate enrolment, membership and CCT fees and allows the fees to be phased across the years in training.
All fees must be up to date before completion of training.
Minimum training times (MTT) have been removed for all specialties since 1st January 2021 following Brexit.
If a trainee in an approved training programme in the UK has completed all the training competencies, exams and has an outcome 6 at their final ARCP then they can be recommended for a CCT regardless of length of training.
The Public Health training Curriculum has been updated to reflect this change with reference to the ‘indicative training time’ as 5 years. Where a Registrar wishes to bring forward their CCT date, this is referred to as an ‘accelerated CCT’ where it is less than 48 months wte.
HEE has issued guidance for those who wish to apply for an accelerated CCT. Available here.
To be eligible for consultant level positions in public health, applicants are required to be on the GMC Specialist Register/ UKPHR of Public Health Specialists.
The six-month rule
We advise that applicants who are Specialty Registrars in public health, but not yet on the GMC/UKPHR Specialist register, must have fully passed the Final Membership (MFPH) examination in order to be eligible to be short-listed for a consultant grade post. The suitable signed documentary evidence must be provided by such applicants to confirm that they are within six months (i.e. six months beforehand) of being included on the GMC/UKPHR Specialist Register at the date of their interview. The documentary evidence should be:
- either ARCP 6 (Final Record of Satisfactory Progress) form or
- a letter from the postgraduate dean (or Faculty Adviser) specifying the date for completion of training AND
- a letter from FPH confirming that the applicant has fully passed the Final Membership (MFPH) examination
The deaneries/LETBs are required to notify the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) when a registrar leaves the training programme. The exit form accompanied by a brief explanation of the reason (eg. completed training, left public health, etc) should be completed and sent to the FPH.
The following criteria have been agreed with the General Medical Council (GMC) for the award of the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in public health:
- General Medical Council (GMC) Registration- Full registration as a medical practitioner with the GMC throughout the whole period of training. (Not required of registrars from background other than medicine)
Foundation Programme (or equivalent)
Foundation year 1 (FY1) and Foundation year 2 (FY2) make up the two year Foundation Programme which all UK medical graduates are required to undertake before progressing to specialty training. These two years effectively replace the pre-registration house officer (PRHO) year and the first year of senior house officer (SHO) training. Foundation doctors are trained and assessed against specific competencies set out in the Curriculum for the Foundation programme developed by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and approved by the GMC.
For non- medical graduates the minimum entry requirement is a first degree (first or 2:1 or equivalent grade) in a relevant subject or relevant professional qualification and a minimum of 60 months whole-time-equivalent (WTE) work experience at time of appointment, of which at least 24 months (WTE) must be in an area relevant to public health practice. The 24 months should be at Band 6 or above of Agenda for Change or equivalent and a minimum of three months WTE at Band 6 level or equivalent within the five years to the start date of the post.
Specialty Training
Registrars must have completed supervised training in posts approved by the GMC.
- All training periods for specialty training are given as WTEs , and training which is less than half time (calculated on a weekly basis), will not be counted.
- The training must exclude periods of leave of absence in excess of two weeks (WTE) over the whole training period. If absences of lesser duration occur, appropriate efforts must be made to fill resulting gaps in the programme as assessed by the ARCP process. If this is not achieved the CCT date will be modified accordingly.
- Satisfactory completion of training must be attested by a completed final ARCP form (outcome 6)
- Training time counted for speciality training must not also have been counted as a part of the Foundation Programme (or equivalent). The training may include:
- either 1 year research if not involving service public health
- or up to 2 years if it is health services research with service public health involvement. - The training may include up to three months in an acting consultant post, prospectively agreed by the relevant Training Programme Director(s) and deaneries. During that time you must be supported by a named educational supervisor, retaining your contract and NTN. The training may not include any time spent in locum consultant posts.
- The number of LAT appointments undertaken by a registrar has no GMC limits but a CCT or CESR (CP) cannot be obtained with only LAT appointments and the registrar must subsequently be appointed to an approved specialty training programme via open competition to be eligible for a CCT. HEE, NES, the Wales Deanery and NIMDTA should keep a careful record of these appointments on the registrar’s file. In addition, a minimum of two ARCPs must be completed during the approved programme, one of which must be the final ARCP.
All registrars must have been admitted to Membership of the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) in order to be recommended for the award of CCT and therefore complete training. Registrars gain membership of FPH by passing the Diplomate (DFPH) and Final Membership (MFPH) examinations.
