The GMC report The State of Medical Education and Practice in the UK 2023 makes for stark reading. It paints a picture of a health service under immense pressure, with a record number of doctors in training taking hard steps to leave the NHS and high numbers of clinicians reporting themselves as dissatisfied and at high risk of burnout.
RCSEd President Prof. Rowan Parks commented:
It is clear from this report that doctors in training are feeling undervalued and underappreciated. It highlights again the immense importance of ensuring a supportive and positive workplace culture that values every member of the team. The report’s recommendations around better induction and onboarding, flexible rota designs and the provision of workplace rest and refreshment facilities are valuable and echo calls that RCSEd has been making for some time.
There is also a clear need to increase the workforce capacity of the NHS. RCSEd has called for an increase in the number of medical school places, and we reiterate that here. Training capacity within the NHS also needs to be scaled up to match that and both trainers and trainees need to be valued, supported and developed.