Investment plan announced to better support trainees returning to work

HEE is investing in targeted support to help trainee doctors return to training after taking time out. We have announced 10 commitments that will bring about real improvements to the return to training process, and the support these doctors receive.

There are a number of reasons why a doctor might take approved time out of programme. In many cases it will also benefit their learning, for example, should they seek to develop their skills elsewhere. However, we also know that any time out may impact upon their skills, knowledge and confidence, and, naturally, many will require tailored support when they return. By supporting doctors through this transition, we will help to bring about improvements in the safety and quality of care for patients.

The Supported Return to Training strategy and investment plan has been published in response to the evidence we have received, and further feedback and discussion with key stakeholders. We listened to doctors, including those currently out of training, about their experiences - both good and bad - and heard that the current support for trainee returners is inconsistent across England. Patient safety was clearly an overarching priority for trainees and trainers, who emphasised that any successful programme should focus on boosting returners’ confidence.

Our commitments include:

• ring-fencing funding for doctors to access activities and resources in support of their return
• coordinating and centralising a defined process for exit, time out and re-entry to the training programme
• commissioning training and resources for Educational Supervisors to help them better support trainee returners
• delivering Keeping in Touch conferences
• collaborating internally and with the wider system to identify and address interdependencies and raise the profile of returners’ voices
• conducting further investigation to develop a “menu” of bespoke return to training approaches for trainees
• capturing data on returners so we can continue to provide individualised support for returning trainees where and when it is required.

We will shortly be advertising Fellowship opportunities for trainees to work with us to refine and develop these opportunities.

This plan is part of our Enhancing Trainee Doctors Working Lives programme, which seeks to develop and pilot improvements to trainees’ working environment, by working with trainees themselves, and to identify and remove any barriers to these enhancements.

We will continue to work with trainees, their membership organisations and other organisations with responsibility for education, training and the regulation of postgraduate medical trainees to deliver our strategy, and to identify and resolve further areas for improvement.

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

At its core, this piece of work is about bringing about improvements to patient care, by better caring for our doctors. The NHS’ lifeblood is its people, and we know if we are to deliver high quality, compassionate care, we must treat our own staff in accordance with these same principles. This report challenges us to bring about some major improvements in the way we approach this, especially at a local level. I look forward to working with colleagues internally and externally to take forward our commitments to trainee returners.

Dr Peter Hockey, co-chair of the Supported Return to Training Content and Delivery group said:

It has been a real privilege to Chair this exciting piece of work on behalf of HEE, and to work with a wide range of stakeholders who feel passionately about how we support colleagues back into work after time out of clinical practice. We have heard heart-breaking stories at times, experiences that could have been so much better with a little planning, and more importantly amazing stories of good practice and innovation. The problems around returning to training have been left unaddressed in some areas and specialties for too long - and I am very optimistic that this innovative funding and the ideas that have come from a wide variety of sources, will result in genuine improvements to the working lives of all our colleagues who take time out of clinical practice for a wide variety of reasons.