Angry doctors to march over selection crisis
From Mmc
Angry doctors to march over selection crisis
By Celia Hall, Medical Editor Last Updated: 4:24pm GMT 16/03/2007
Thousands of doctors will take to the streets of London and Glasgow tomorrow in protest over a flawed selection system which has left many of the brightest applicants without the prospect of a job.
As many as 5,000 to 10,000 junior doctors, consultants, their spouses, parents and families are likely to join the unprecedented demonstrations as anger and disillusion over the new system continue to grow. Speakers at the march in London and rally in Glasgow will call for the new online selection system, Medical Training Application Service (MTAS), to be suspended. The doctors want more training posts, a revised selection system, and a complete independent review of medical workforce planning.
More than 30,000 doctors have applied for 18,500 training posts in the NHS. These are the specialist registrar posts when doctors train to become consultants. This year under a programme called Modernising Medical Careers all the junior doctor posts change at the same time. There has always been competition for the jobs but the "politically correct" MTAS and interview system did away with CVs and the opportunity for doctors to demonstrate extra degrees, qualifications, experience and published research. As a result hundreds of the "brightest and most able of their generation" failed even to get selected for interviews.
Andrew Lansley, shadow health spokesman, who will address the London march, says that MMC is "an appalling shambles".
"It risks undermining the morale and the future of the medical profession. What is the point of expanding medical school places and then destroying the career progression of juniors? "We cannot, we must not, abandon thousands of junior doctors; we must ensure that they can fulfil their vocation, for them and for our patients," he said. The junior doctors have increasingly been supported by senior doctors including some of the most eminent names in medicine. The demonstrations have been organised by a grassroots doctors’ group, RemedyUK. Dr Judy King, one of the organisers, said: "Its hard to talk about exact numbers but it could be five to 10,000 in London and hundreds in Glasgow". They are supported by the British Medical Association which is also calling for the system to be suspended and changes made. The campaigns have been supported by The Daily Telegraph which is inviting doctors to join an online petition to get MTAS scrapped. The Government has sought to the placate the doctors and agreed to an immediate independent review of the selection system.
A week ago it appeared to back down again by agreeing that those who had been overlooked could re-apply and send in their CVs. But there is still no clarity on how this will be done.
