The one-hour sessions outlined how the Long-Term Workforce Plan will shape the distribution of Specialty Training posts going forward, the need to continue equitable long term workforce planning and the importance of achieving healthcare equity and decreasing health inequalities across the country. It included programme updates, including progress on Phase A specialties and next steps for the programme following the publication of the Long-Term Workforce Plan. We will also updated on themes gathered from the recent trainee focus groups, the recommendations made and how we have started to progress this work. A recording is available below:
Answered Questions
We have compiled answers to the questions received from the webinars. Some questions fell out of the remit of the programme and therefore we haven’t answered them here. Some comments taken from the chat function have also not been responded to. Thank you to everyone who submitted a question or comment. The next webinar will take place in March and information relating to this will be available on the events page soon.
Questions submitted before March 2024 Webinar
Conditions are challenging for some doctors rotating in remote and coastal areas. The problem I have found with some rotations in the rural setting is the large geographical area I have to cover. Is that being considered? We understand some of the challenges faced and the impact it can have on trainees. Resolving the current health inequalities for patients in remote, rural and coastal locations is a priority for NHSE as stated in the CMO of England's 2023 and 2021 annual reports and the LTWP. Work is therefore on going to find ways to provide support or address the issues trainees may face when working in these regions as retention of workforce is a priority. For example, reviewing the geographical boundaries of rotations and implementing geographically congruent programmes would allow doctors to live in an area where they are realistically able to commute to most of their training posts, benefitting trainees’ quality of life as well as providing continuity for patients, multidisciplinary teams and employers. A model based on the geographical footprint of an ICS is currently being piloted in the Humber region. There are also on-going discussions with the Royal Colleges and GMC who write and regulate the standards and extent of curriculum content looking to address this issue. More information can be found on the enhancing doctors lives dedicated area on the website.
With regards to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), there is a commitment to increase postgraduate specialist training places but there is no clear road map. Can modelling be shared in advance of what specialities will increase training places and by how much over the next 5 years? I know the plan is to increase GP places by 500 for 2024/2025 application window but nothing about any other speciality. The NHS LTWP did not make estimates for medical specialty training. The Plan said: 'While we recognise the need for continued growth, this Plan does not cover the demand and supply of medical specialties, except for where these are already planned. This is partly because the available data is not yet sufficiently granular to give a clear enough picture for all specialisms to enable highly detailed national decisions on specialist workforce planning. It also reflects that it is incredibly difficult to predict which specialist roles will be most in demand in 15 years’ time, particularly where further work is needed to consider a future shift towards a more flexible specialist workforce. As this Plan is iterated, the objective is to establish the data and methodologies to enable a view to be formed with a richer and more granular range of information from across the NHS.'
Will any part of the expansion work to attract more overseas doctors to plug the gaps left by many of my colleagues that are leaving? The recruitment to training programmes has been at an historically high level since 2020 and the current round of recruitment for posts starting in August 2024 has seen record numbers of doctors applying across virtually all specialties. Doctors eligible to apply to specialty training do so from a variety of training and education backgrounds.