NHS faces 'senior doctor exodus'
NHS faces 'senior doctor exodus'
Also In The News
|
Italian football is in a state of total bewilderment after the cataclysmic last few weeks. |  |
Wednesday, 14, Jun 2006 11:44
Changes to employment structures for senior frontline roles in the NHS could leave thousands of doctors no choice but to move overseas, the British Medical Association (BMA) has claimed.
While the BMA's junior doctors committee believes that 21,500 staff are likely to apply for senior house officer posts next year, government changes to its medical careers structure aims to streamline recruitment to just 9,500 vacancies.
The BMA claims that for the majority of applicants from existing senior house officers, international graduates and doctors "emerging from new foundation programmes" will be forced to look overseas for work following the Department of Health's cutbacks.
Although unsuccessful applicants will be offered 'non-training' posts, the BMA believes that these "dead end" posts which offer few opportunities to progress their career will be rejected by many, who will prefer to continue their professional development elsewhere.
"The fact that they could face unemployment is outrageous," commented Dr Jo Hilborne, chairman of the BMA's junior doctors committee.
"The alternative - pushing doctors into dead end jobs so they never get essential skills that would benefit their patients – is unacceptable and won’t work. Doctors are simply going to leave the NHS instead."
She pointed out that the taxpayer had invested around £250,000 in the development of each doctor and argued that this money would be wasted if they did not fulfil their potential.
"The solution to this problem is better workforce planning – not discrimination. If a doctor has started their training in the UK, they should be able to finish it," she added.