FAQs

For GPs:

• After a GP registers, an email is sent to the RSU Administrator – Appraisal Support.
• The team will verify the GP’s Designated Body and confirm their registration on the Medical Performers List (MPL).
• Once verified, the account will be activated manually by the team, and the GP will be notified. You will then be able to view the GP in the system.

For Other Specialties: If you can’t see a doctor who has registered:

• Ask the doctor to confirm that their Designated Body on the GMC register is correct.
• Ensure the Designated Body entered during registration in MARS matches the one on the GMC register.
• If there’s an issue, the registration will move to "awaiting approval" for manual review. MARS syncs with GMC Connect daily (around 8pm), and once the details match, the account will be approved.

Once you claim a doctor from the holding area, an email is automatically sent to the doctor. The email contains a link for them to authorise the transfer of their data.

• After the doctor authorises the transfer, their account will appear in your active users list, and the Designated Body will automatically update.
• If the doctor has been in the holding area for an extended period, you may need to update their Allocated Quarter (AQ).

If the doctor reports not having received the email:

1. Ask them to check their junk or spam folder.
2. If they still haven’t received it, ask them to contact the MARS Service Desk, and we will investigate the issue further.

If the doctor has appraisal activity on their account, they should not be placed in the holding area, as this will prevent them from continuing with their appraisal process.

To resolve this, please contact the MARS Service Desk, and we can move the doctor’s account back to active, allowing them to proceed with their appraisal.

To resolve this, please contact the MARS Service Desk. They will:

•  Make the appraiser's account active.
• Revalidation and Quality team will remove the appraiser role.
• Place the doctor’s account back into the holding area.

Important: Before placing an account into holding, ensure that the appraiser has no appraisal activity and that their role is removed.

Placing an appraiser account into holding with appraisal activity would prevent them from continuing with their appraisal process.

To add the Appraiser Role to a Doctor’s Account, please contact the Revalidation and Quality Team, who will assist you with this request.

To remove the Appraiser Role to a Doctor’s Account, please contact the Appraisal Systems Officer, who will assist you with this request.

Please contact the Revalidation and Quality team who will assist you with this request.

To set up a new member of your admin team on MARS, follow these steps:

1. Which MARS site should they register on?

There are two MARS sites:

•  GP MARS (for general practitioners).
•  Medical MARS (for all other specialties).

Ensure that the new team member registers on the correct site. If they require access to both MARS for GPs and MED MARS, they must register on each site separately.

2. How do they register on MARS?

• Direct the new staff member to the MARS login page and have them click the ‘Register Now’ button.
• This will lead them to a registration page where they will need to input their details.
•  For the GMC number, they can use a placeholder number, as long as it is not already in use.

3. What should they do after registering?

• After completing the registration, the new user must contact the MARS Service Desk so we can manually activate their account(s).
• We also need to know what role(s) they need access to on MARS. Once we have this information, we will send them the necessary User Access Forms to be filled out.

For guidance on this matter, please contact the MARS Service Desk.

To proceed with this request, we will need the following:

1. Confirmation from the Responsible Officer (RO): We need confirmation from the RO that they approve this arrangement.
2. Doctor and Appraiser Information: Details of the doctor and the preferred appraiser.
3. Linking the Doctor and Appraiser on MARS: Once we receive the necessary information, we will link the doctor to the appraiser on MARS. This will send a request to the appraiser, who can then accept it and arrange the appraisal dates.

If the doctor has not accepted the committed summary, they can reject it. After rejection, the appraiser can amend the Revalidation Progress page.

If the summary has already been accepted, the appraiser cannot update the Revalidation Progress page. In this case, contact the appraiser to confirm the appraisal details.

Once the appraiser confirms that the Revalidation Progress page needs to be updated, contact the MARS Service Desk. We will make the necessary changes and notify you when the update is complete.

If a doctor has clicked "Meeting Complete" in error, it can be reversed, but it will need to be escalated to our Digital Team.

Please contact the RSU Officer - Appraisal Systems, who will escalate the issue and assist in resolving it.

When notified to archive a MARS account, we will contact the doctor and begin the archiving process.

• The doctor will have 2 weeks to download their summaries and documents before the account is archived.
•  If the doctor needs access to their account in the future, they can contact us, and we will reactivate it as needed.

When a doctor is leaving Wales, we will contact them and archive their account according to our archive process.

If the doctor needs access to their account in the future, please contact the MARS Service Desk and we will reactivate their account.

We can place the doctor’s account in the ‘Holding’ area of MARS. Once the account is in the holding area, you will be able to ‘claim’ it. After claiming the account, it will be fully activated.