Specialty and Associate Specialist Doctors

SAS doctor and EDI

Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctors are a vital part of the workforce, making up 20% of the medical staff in England. Feedback highlights they lack workplace support, find it hard to move between specialties, have limited access to training and some have reported bullying1 . The GMC’s latest workforce data show that numbers of SAS and Locally Employed doctors have grown at almost six times the rate of GPs in the past five years. If that trend continues, they will represent the largest group on the UK medical register by 2030.

EDI and SAS Doctors

1. SAS doctors should be able to fulfil their full potential alongside other group of doctors as clinicians, educators, service development and other roles in academic fields.

2. SAS doctor role should be a career choice for doctors and those who would like to move to the new Specialist role.

3. Leadership opportunities should be available to SAS doctors within employing trusts, HEE roles, and wider NHS opportunities alongside Consultant colleagues.

4. SAS doctors who would like to re-enter training programmes should not face barriers in selection, recognition of previous training and HEE processes for selection should meet inclusive recruitment goals.

5. SAS development is everyone’s responsibility including NHS Employers, HEE and Medical Royal Colleges.

6. Dignity and wellbeing in the workplace for SAS doctors is crucial and lessons from the pandemic and WRES standards should be actively encouraged

Some of the Additional Steps taken by HEE for SAS doctors

1. SAS doctors as Approved Clinicians in Psychiatry (HEE sponsored training programme).

2. SAS doctor supervision of post graduate doctors in training – evaluation, sharing best practice evidence – encouraging those in rural, remote, coastal communities – learning from this pilot and model.

Areas for development

1. Strengthening the SAS tutor and SAS advocate role and recognising the SAS tutor role through education programme activities (EPA).

2. Working alongside the GMC and Academy of Royal Colleges to improve workplace conditions, value and support career progression of SAS doctors and Leadership opportunities and extended role for SAS doctors.

3. Strengthen CESR programmes and work alongside training programmes to facilitate SAS doctors’ re-entry to training programme and flexible career and training opportunities.

4. Ensure that opportunities for consultants are also available to SAS doctors.

5. If SAS doctors work in general practice,3 (GMC proposals) define training and support mechanism to enable this.

References

1 https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/supporting-sas-doctors https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/SAS_ Report_Web.pdf

2 GMC. The state of medical education and practice in the UK: workforce report 2022. https://www.gmc-uk.org/ about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/the-stateof-medical-education-and-practice-in-the-uk/workforcereport-2022

3 BMJ 2022; 379 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2505 (Published 18 October 2022)