Strong performance in Medical Specialty Training fill rates

Figures released by Health Education England today (HEE) show good fill rates across most specialties this year including in Core Psychiatry, Paedatrics, Pallative Medicine, Gastroenterology and Haemotology which have all achieved a 100% fill rate. 

They also show that applications for medical specialty training for next year are up 35% compared to this year. 

This news follows last months announcement of the highest ever number of GPs entering training with 3,793 posts accepted, exceeding the mandated target of 3,250.  

Dr Navina Evans, Chief Executive, Health Education England said: 

“This is great news, I am pleased that the overall fill rates for entry into postgraduate medicine remain strong in so many key specialties. It comes after yet another record breaking year for GP specialty training where we exceeded our target.  

“This success is thanks in part to our partnership working with royal colleges who have supported us in making sure we have been able to deliver this year’s recruitment programme despite the current pressures faced.” 

Professor Wendy Reid, Director Education and Quality, Health Education England said:   

“I am delighted to see such good figures across many specialties this year particularly during what has been a very challenging year for the NHS. We have had to adapt the way we recruit using remote selection to save time for applicants and panel members who no longer need to travel to assessment centres across the country.   

“The strong fill rates are good news for NHS recruitment and will support the delivery of high quality care to patients across the country.  We will continue to work with the Royal Colleges to support those specialties that have lower fill rates. 

“Applications for training next year are also up to across medical specialties which is fantastic to see.” 

Remote selection which HEE has used to deliver recruitment over the past year will continue to be used in the future.  It has worked well and has been shown to save considerable time for both applicants and panel members who no longer need to travel to assessment centres across the country. 

HEE has also confirmed that the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) will be extended for next year's recruitment round. MSRA is a computer-based assessment which is currently used by a number of specialties for entry into post-graduate medical training. The move follows an impact assessment which was carried out to ensure fairness and it has been found to better for the clinical staff who carry out the assessment, the trainees themselves and is a good way of assessing a large number of candidates.

To view the data visit https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/medical-recruitment/specialty-recruitment-202021-final-fill-rate-position

Specialty training website with all four nations data https://specialtytraining.hee.nhs.uk/Recruitment/2020-recruitment