GPs and specialists within the National Health Service (NHS) or working privately in England had to comply with the standards it established[citation needed].
PMETB developed and introduced a system that assesses applications from doctors who have not followed a traditional training programme but who may have gained the same level of skills and knowledge as CCT holders.
[3] GPs who have not followed a PMETB approved training programme can apply under Article 11 of the Order for a Certificate confirming Eligibility for General Practice Registration (CEGPR).
In February 2008 the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, agreed with recommendations of the Tooke Report which advised that PMETB should merge with the General Medical Council (GMC).
[4] Whilst recognising the achievements made by PMETB, Professor John Tooke concluded that regulation needed to be combined into one body; that there should be one organisation that looked after what he called 'the continuum of medical education', from the moment someone chooses a career in medicine until the point that they retire.