The Royal College of Physicians has responded to the announcement of a bill which will see UK medical graduates prioritised for training places.
Professor Mumtaz Patel, RCP president, said:
‘We welcome government action to tackle specialty training bottlenecks – an issue the Royal College of Physicians has been raising consistently through our next generation campaign for the past year. Now we need to see the detail of these proposals. For too long, talented doctors have been left stuck in a system that does not give them fair or timely opportunities to progress. International medical graduates already working in the NHS are our colleagues and friends, providing vital care to patients every day, and they must be properly supported to develop their careers. But this cannot be addressed in isolation. The medical training system needs a fundamental reset – with more postgraduate training places, genuinely flexible career pathways, and sustained investment in high-quality training and supervision – if we are serious about securing the future physician workforce and delivering excellent patient care.’
Dr Catherine Rowan and Dr Stephen Joseph, co-chairs of the RCP Resident Doctor Committee, said:
‘Today’s announcement is a welcome step forward. For resident doctors, the biggest challenge is not commitment or capability, but a lack of opportunity. We are working under intense pressure, delivering frontline care, yet facing fierce competition for too few training posts and limited flexibility in how we progress. This is affecting morale, wellbeing and decisions about staying in the NHS. The next generation of doctors needs a training system that recognises modern careers – one that expands training places and invests properly in supervision and education. Without this, we risk losing talented doctors from the NHS.’
Dr Seán Coghlan, chair of the RCP Student and Foundation Doctor Network, added:
‘This announcement will bring huge relief to the many early career doctors that have been left frightened and dismayed by the broken system of postgraduate medical recruitment in this country. Medical students and foundation doctors are strongly motivated to build careers in the NHS but have faced a fragile future, with training bottlenecks causing great uncertainty. The RCP’s next generation campaign speaks directly to these concerns – calling for expanded postgraduate training places, better educational supervision and clearer, fairer routes to progression. If we want the next generation of doctors to stay, thrive and lead in the NHS, reform must begin now.’