Review of new recruitment process is a whitewash, say junior doctors
From Mmc
Review of new recruitment process is a whitewash, say junior doctors
7 Mar 2007 Caroline White
Junior doctors have branded the government's planned review of the Angrydocround one recruitment and selection process under Modernising Medical Careers (MMC), "a whitewash." Dr Matthew Shaw, a specialist registrar at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, and co-founder of the doctors' campaign group Remedy UK, told OnMedica that the review could not possibly be independent, given the make-up of the panel members. "It will basically be a whitewash. Three people [on the panel} have been involved in MMC," he said, adding the royal colleges had also helped push it through. "We want to see people on it who have not been involved so far, such as clinicians and the King's Fund." The review will be led by Professor Neil Douglas, Vice President of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.The other eight panel members comprise senior workforce executives from the Department of Health, senior leads on MMC, and presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Anaesthetists and Psychiatrists.The panel also includes a specialist registrar in paediatrics, Dr Paul Dimitri. A survey of 1800 of Remedy UK's members, published on Sunday, showed that only 10% felt they were adequately represented by the medical Royal Colleges and less than 6% felt they were represented by the BMA. The Department of Health conceded yesterday that: "It is clear that there have been a number of problems with [the Medical Training and Application Service] and that the process as whole has created a high degree of insecurity amongst applicants, and indeed, more widely in the profession."Round one interviews for new specialist training posts began last week, and round two will start at the end of April. The review is expected to conclude by the end of March. "There's always been competition for jobs. When I applied, there were 150 applicants chasing six posts, but this selection process is grossly unfair," said Dr Shaw. "The application forms are full of waffly type questions, which make it impossible to tell how good a doctor is," he continued, adding that greater transparency was needed to help doctors make informed career choices. "Doctors are not given any information on how many applicants there are, how many jobs are on offer, and in what regions. But the information is available," he said. "Under the old system, you could apply anywhere, but the new process forces doctors apply to four regions max," he added. Dr Jo Hilborne, chair of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, and Dr Jonathan Fielden, chair of the BMA Consultants Committee ,have jointly written to health secretary Patricia Hewitt, criticising the government's refusal to suspend the interview process. The letter says that the selection process is "fatally flawed." It continues: "If it is allowed to go ahead, the effect of this debacle on the morale of doctors...will haunt the NHS for years to come." Remedy UK is staging a peaceful march in London on March 17 to protest against the new training process. It will walk past the instituions, which junior doctors don't feel adequately represent their interests, said Dr Shaw. He expected anything up to 3000 protesters to attend.
