New medical training body needed in England

After the chaos of MTAS last year, Professor John Tooke, Dean of the Peninsula School of Medicine, was asked by the DH to lead an independent inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers. His interim report was published last October and was backed by doctors.

The Tooke final report was out yesterday with recommendations that a new body - NHS Medical Education England to be set up to manage postgraduate medical training and the training budget should be ring-fenced to prevent the NHS from using it to plug deficits.
The report also warns that junior doctors training could suffer when the European Working Time Directive comes into force next year, so measures need to be taken to ensure doctors have enough training time.

Junior doctors across the UK are being warned that they will face tough competition this year for specialist training jobs in the NHS after the government failed in a legal bid to give UK medical graduates priority. The report says that the Government failed to resolve its two policies that have caused the severe competition for training posts in the UK - British medical schools increasing the intake of students and the "open door" policy toward overseas doctors who want specialist training in the UK. Read more at TimesOnline .