Doctors' Training Programme Facing Shortfall Of Places, BMA Warns, UK

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 02 Nov 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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A shortage of places on the foundation training programme for newly qualified doctors could leave some doctors unemployed, the BMA warns.

A combination of an increase in the number of non-UK medical students applying for places on the UK's two-year foundation programme - the first stage of postgraduate training - and a reduction in the number of places available in real terms means that there may be a shortfall in places, despite previous Government assurances that all graduates from UK medical schools would have a place.

Historically the number of places available for newly qualified doctors is calculated by taking the number of UK graduates and adding a 'headroom' of 12.5% to allow for a number of overseas graduates. This year the 'headroom' has been slashed to around 5%.

The UK Foundation Programme Office that administers applications to the foundation programme has said that some UK medical graduates may only be offered a place for the first year of the programme, and would have to apply competitively for a post to complete the second.

In a letter sent to Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of BMA Council, said: "Completing foundation year one is essential to gaining full registration with the General Medical Council, and achieving the competencies of foundation year two is a minimum requirement to be able to compete for further training grades.

"It is vital that the application process satisfies the expectation that all medical students graduating from UK medical schools are offered a full, two-year foundation programme post. This will meet the expectations of UK graduates and will ensure that the financial investment in educating and training doctors to work in the NHS is returned.

"It costs in the region of £250,000 to produce a newly qualified doctor in this country; it seems a terrible waste of tax-payers' money if there are not enough jobs for these graduates in the two years after their qualification."

Commenting on the latest problem facing the crisis-hit medical training reforms, Ian Noble, Chairman of the BMA's Medical Students Committee, says: "It is completely unacceptable for some graduates to lose out on a two-year placement on the foundation programme. How will it be decided who gets a two-year place and who is offered a place for just one year? What happens if having completed one year, they can't then get a place the following year to complete the course? It is an absolute disgrace for doctors to be left in limbo in this way. On average, a graduating medical student is over £20,000 in debt, having dedicated five years of their life to train to be a doctor. If the government refuses to open up sufficient training places for these young doctors, this will leave them unemployed, hugely in debt and wondering what on earth to do next."

http://www.bma.org.uk

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