Hewitt told 'a year ago' about likely crisis over doctors' jobs
From Mmc
Hewitt told 'a year ago' about likely crisis over doctors' jobs
By Rosie Murray-West Last Updated: 2:43am GMT 12/03/2007
Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, was thrust to the centre of the row over junior doctor recruitment last night, after the Tories revealed that she had shrugged off their warnings over the new training system more than a year ago.Hundreds of young doctors have not even secured interviews after applying for specialist posts using a new, online selection system. Many are now considering emigrating to find work.The Government admitted at the weekend that a review had found "shortcomings" in the system, which may have lost hundreds of applications because of computer glitches.However, Andrew Lansley, the shadwo health secretary, said Miss Hewitt had ignored warnings about likely problems almost 15 months ago.In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, he said: "It is appalling that it has taken such a shambles before the Government will admit the need for a review of medical training."
Mr Lansley pointed out a "serious potential problem" with the selection system in a Commons debate on Dec 20, 2005. Ms Hewitt insisted then that the new system, Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) was "an improvement". "Several hundred additional first-year foundation programme posts will be available over and above the number of graduates who will leave medical schools," she said. Mr Lansley said that junior doctors received "further empty assurances" in December 2006, when Health Minister Lord Warner said: "Doctors in training should be pretty confident about securing a training post". But Mr Lansley said: "Junior doctors have been abysmally let down."
The new system was designed to cut down the training time for junior doctors. Doctors had to apply for training posts online, but computer crashes meant many well-qualified candidates were not even offered interviews.Senior medical sources suggested yesterday that the situation is even graver than has previously been suggested.Instead of 33,000 applicants chasing 22,000 available jobs, the actual number of jobs available may have been only 18,500. Sources also suggested that 1,300 applications went missing from the website because of computer glitches.The Department of Health said yesterday it did not recognise these figures.Meanwhile, the Government has rejected a call from the British Medical Association to suspend first-round interviews for training posts.Under the new concessions, those junior doctors who fear that they have been overlooked in the first round will be given the opportunity to have their application form reviewed by a trained adviser. Successful candidates will then be given an interview.Nathaniel Broughton, 27, a trainee anaethetist from Suffolk, said that the concessions had caused "absolute confusion". He has been offered one interview in London, which may now be cancelled because of consultants boycotting the process."I don't know whether I will be eligible to appeal under the new DOH guidelines," he said. "I have no idea what I will be doing in August."There is a strong chance I will be forced to leave medicine, or leave the country." Senior doctors in the West Midlands are demanding an immediate halt to the current interview process.They said recent official attempts to resolve the situation were "misguided".
In a letter to the DoH and the Royal Colleges of medicine, they said that the failure to suspend current interviews will leave the door open for any unsuccessful candidate to make a legal challenge under existing employment law.
