Climbdown in junior doctor row
From Mmc
Climbdown in junior doctor row Mar 10 2007
The Government has moved to try to rescue its controversial new recruitment scheme for junior doctors to prevent it falling into chaos. The Department of Health rejected a call from the British Medical Association to suspend first-round interviews for specialist training posts, which began this week. But in a statement - slipped out after MPs had left Westminster for the weekend - it promised a series of concessions intended to strengthen the interview process. It followed a review into the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) recruitment and selection process for specialist training which found "shortcomings" in the system. The review was launched after consultants threatened to boycott the interviews because they had no confidence that the right candidates for the posts were being selected. The Department of Health said that as a result of changes, junior doctors applying for training posts would be allowed to provide CVs and portfolios to support their applications . Junior doctors who fear that they have been overlooked for the first round of interviews will be given the opportunity to have their application form reviewed by a trained adviser. Successful candidates will then be given an interview. Health minister Lord Hunt said: "I know that this has been a difficult time for junior doctors and I hope that this reassures them that we have listened to their concerns, and that our goal is the same as theirs: to find the right people for the right jobs for the benefit of the NHS, its patients and its staff."
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.
