BMA responds to new junior doctor recrutiment and selection proposals
From Mmc
BMA responds to new junior doctor recrutiment and selection proposals
4 April 2007
Representatives from the BMA were back at the review group table today (4/3/07) when a revised plan for resolving the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) crisis was announced.
Junior Doctors Committee (JDC) chairman, Dr Jo Hilborne, and Consultants Committee Chairman, Dr Jonathan Fielden, attended this morning’s review group meeting to seek further improvements to the new recruitment and selection process for junior doctors in England.
Commenting on the latest proposals from the review group, Dr Jo Hilborne, Chairman of JDC said: “It was never going to be easy finding a way out of the mess that MTAS has created. The JDC has been determined to fight for a solution which is fair and equitable. We believe the latest offering from the Review Group to be a practical way forward, which does not waste the hard work of thousands of applicants preparing for and attending interview. A robust second round of interviews is essential and we will continue to work for this.
“Junior doctors have endured weeks of turmoil. Their lives have been turned upside down by this shambolic and incompetent training application system. This debacle should never have happened and we urge the Government to launch a fully independent inquiry into this sorry mess.”
Dr Jonathan Fielden, Chairman of the BMA’s Consultants Committee said: “The medical profession has been united in its concern about the MTAS fiasco. Consultants have already put considerable effort into conducting interviews and whilst recognising that inevitably more work will be involved, we believe this is the most practical way to secure a fair outcome for junior doctors. Our aim has always been to appoint the best candidates to the right posts to train and treat patients.
“However it is essential that the whole application process, together with Modernising Medical Careers, is independently reviewed to give a future solution that commands the confidence of the profession and patients.”
