Responding to today’s GMC report calling for UK wide workforce planning to avoid an NHS staffing crisis, Professor Michael Griffin OBE, President of The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
“The state of medical education and practice in the UK report reiterates what our members and fellows are telling us about the unabated pressure on health services and the impact it is having on patient outcomes and the quality of care. Indeed, the report also echoes the fact that many clinicians are considering leaving the profession.
“We naturally support calls for better support to retain and attract doctors and more to be done to improve the supply. However more needs to be done to support and promote SAS and LED doctors, encourage less than full training and protect ongoing CPD. Recent announcements around the possible expansion of MTI places and medical school places are welcome, but these issues also need to be given urgent priority.
“Our report on Improving the Working Environment for Safe Surgical Care outlines a number of recommendations that we believe are needed to improve the delivery of safe surgical care, and call on health bodies and influencers to adopt these as soon as possible”