"Have faith in Australian companies"? Read below and say it
again
LONDON (Reuters) - Junior doctors face intense competition for
specialist training posts this year, with 2.5 times mores
applicants than jobs, the National Health Service said on
Saturday.
(Advertisement)
NHS Employers, the body which represents health trusts in England,
said there were 9,000 posts for an estimated 23,000
applicants.
Health chiefs said the battle for places means only the best
candidates will be selected, but the Conservatives said it
highlighted the need for more posts.
"It is a good thing for patients that there is competition for
jobs," Sian Thomas, of NHS Employers, the body responsible for
employment in the health service, told the BBC.
British-trained doctors face competition from overseas doctors
working in the NHS after the appeal court rejected government
attempts to give priority to UK graduates.
From Saturday, junior doctors will start to apply for the posts
that allow them to train towards becoming a consultant or a family
doctor.
Those who fail to win a place may seek a non-training job and
reapply next year, look for work overseas or leave medicine.
Tory Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Unless the
government recognises the exceptional need for additional posts
this year and in the next two years, we will see a new 'lost tribe'
of doctors who fail to complete training."
The British Medical Association said it feared that the process
could descend into a lottery.
"Trusts need to get their recruitment practices in order, and start
preparing now to ensure that there is no unfairness, and no
negative impact on patient care," said Ram Moorthy, who chairs its
junior doctors' committee.
The BMA's chairman James Johnson quit last May after criticism from
colleagues that he failed to convey doctors' anger over problems
with last year's selection process.
(Reporting by Peter Griffiths)
