Top doctors plan overhaul of medical training

The chief medical officer and NHS England’s medical director are launching a major review of post-graduate medical training, which will report in the summer.

The announcement from NHSE and the Department of Health and Social Care follows years of complaints from resident doctors (also known as junior doctors) about how they are treated.

NHSE said the review would cover “placement options, the flexibility of training, difficulties with rotas, control and autonomy in training, and the balance between developing specialist knowledge and gaining a broad range of skills”.

Resident doctors carried out 44 days of strike action over 17 months from March 2023, citing training conditions as well as pay.

Common complaints involve: being sent across the country, sometimes at late notice, for placements; being denied time off for important life events; and mistreatment by seniors. 

Trusts often rely on resident doctors to keep services running, particularly out of hours.

The review will hear feedback from current resident doctors and students, locally employed doctors and medical educators.

Its exact scope is unclear, such as whether it will consider the allocation of specialist training posts, and how much time is spent working in primary and community care, or concerns about sexism and racism. Government is also due to refresh the long-term workforce plan in the summer.

There will be “listening events in February and March” and “a call for evidence in the spring”. 

NHSE national medical director Sir Stephen Powis said: “It’s been several years since medical training was reviewed and the way we practise medicine has evolved, as have the needs and expectations of medical graduates.

“So, the time is right to look at again, especially with a new 10-Year Health Plan in development.”

CMO Sir Chris Whitty said: “Many things have changed in medicine and it is sensible to look at the key issues, problems and successes of lifelong training we need to address.

“Getting the balance right between competing, reasonable aims of training, and service provision will help ensure doctors are best equipped to treat patients in the coming decades.”

Academy of Medical Royal Colleges chair Jeanette Dickson said: “It’s been two decades since we last looked in detail at the way we train doctors in this country. Since then, so much has changed in healthcare and the way it is delivered that it is only right that we look again at how we can best meet the training needs of resident doctors to ensure they have the skills to deliver the best care for patients throughout their careers.”