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[http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/liverpooldailypost/news/regionalnews/tm_headline=mothers-in-fight-for-doctors--8217--nhs-jobs%26method=full%26objectid=18758115%26page=1%26siteid=50061-name_page.html Original Article]

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'''Mothers in fight for doctors’ NHS jobs'''

''Mar 15 2007  by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post''

FAMILIES of Merseyside’s junior doctors last night pledged to fight the new government training programme which has left their children struggling to find jobs in the NHS.

As national campaign group Mums4Medics is launched today to lobby the government for a solution to the current crisis in post-graduate medical training, one mother said she would join forces with others to ensure her daughter’s years of training would not go to waste.

Brenda Green said that, after going out to work to help fund her daughter’s medical training, she understood the dedication and commitment of junior doctors who fear they may end up in the dole queue.

And today as her daughter Natalie Green, 30, will be interviewed for a job at Aintree University Hospital, where she has worked for almost two years, Mrs Green said she would join Mums4Medics to fight for junior doctors to have the right to work in a profession that they have dedicated their lives to.

She said: “The way these young people have been treated is scandalous.

“Natalie has wanted to be a doctor since she was 12.

“Such was her burning ambition that I went out to work as a shorthand typist to put her through school. My husband was an electrical engineer – we are not a wealthy medical family.

“Now, after over six years of medical training and after running up huge debts, she is left with an uncertain future – all thanks to the shambles that is Modernising Medical Careers (MMC).

“First and foremost I am a mum, and a mum who has seen how hard Natalie has worked for this. However, I am also a NHS user and if something is not done to rectify this problem then there will be a shortage of doctors and the NHS will fall to its knees.”


Like other Mums4Medics supporters, Mrs Green, from Knowsley, blames the new government programme MMC which aims to set out a new progression in doctors’ careers.

Desperate young doctors, who believe it actually threatens their careers, have renamed it the “Massive Medical Cull”.

Mrs Green’s daughter, Natalie, has spent six years at university and medical school. She is now at registrar level after four years of training within the NHS.

She added: “Like many mums, my mum has done so much to get me through medical school and feels frust- rated that she cannot help.

“Mums4- Medics is a brilliant way for people to show their support to the crisis we are facing as junior doctors.”

Mums4Medics are marching in London and Glasgow on Saturday, bearing placards addressed to the Health Secretary which will read: “Patricia Hewitt – make my Mother’s Day. Stop the MTAS/MMC fiasco now.”
FOR more information about the protest, visit www.mums4medics.org or visit the RemedyUK website www.remedyuk.org 

What Modernising Medical Careers means to doctors

WHAT is MMC?

Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a government initiative to revamp and modernise current training of doctors within the UK.

Why was MMC implemented?

The reasons for MMC are not fully apparent. There were certainly some problems with the old system but MMC is a complete overhaul of a reasonably successful training method.

Who does it affect?

MMC is expected to affect the vast majority of junior doctors who are currently many years into training to be leading specialists in their fields in the NHS.

How many doctors will be unemployed?

At least 8,000 doctors in August 2007.

How much does it cost to train a doctor?

£250,000 per doctor – paid for by the taxpayer. This means £2bn worth of trained doctors being unemployed.

What is MTAS?

MTAS stands for the Medical Training Application Service – an online application system designed to allow juniors to apply centrally for training rotations.

How is the new system choosing our future doctors?

It requires juniors to submit an online application form, much of which involves 150 word vignettes about clinical cases or ethical issues. 75% of the marks available are awarded for these vignettes, only 25% for actual clinical and academic qualifications.

How did the old system choose doctors?

It analysed applicants according to their academic achievements, involvement in research, extra curricular activities and references.