Important announcement for specialty applicants
Published: 16 May 2007
By: MMC
The Secretary of State for Health made the following written ministerial statement to the House of Commons yesterday. It contains important information on the security of the MTAS system and on the future of the recruitment process. We know that this may raise many questions for you, which we will be answering as soon as possible.
In my oral statement on 1 May 2007 (Column 1367) I notified the House that there had been two security breaches of the medical training application service (MTAS) that arose on 25th and 26th April.
MWR Infosecurity has now completed a full security review of the MTAS system. Action has been taken by the contractor (Methods) to address the weaknesses identified. Both MWR and CESG (Communications Electronic Security Group), the national technical authority for information assurance, have confirmed that appropriate and sufficiently comprehensive action has been taken. The site was therefore re-opened last week, restricted to postgraduate deaneries only, to support the next steps in the recruitment process.
Because the investigation has made it clear that criminal offences may have been committed, the MWR analysis and report have been given to the police.
Ongoing Recruitment Process
Following the recommendations of the review group chaired by Professor Neil Douglas, every eligible applicant for postgraduate medical training has now been guaranteed at least one interview for their first preference post. An additional 15,500 interviews have therefore been arranged as part of Round 1 and are now taking place. I am extremely grateful to the consultants who have made themselves available for these additional interviews.
The review group met again on 9 May to consider the process of offering posts to candidates who are successful in their Round 1 applications. The group agreed that offers for the current round will be managed locally by individual deaneries, on the basis of published MMC guidance.
Offers will be made to successful candidates on a phased basis as interviews for each specialty are completed. Subject to the outcome of the current Judicial Review, the first offers for hospital specialities in England will be made on or after 21 May 2007, with all initial offers made by early June. This process of making offers will continue until late June 2007, at which time Round 1 will close, ensuring that candidates and employers have time to prepare for appointments commencing on 1 August 2007. Given the continuing concerns of junior doctors about MTAS, the system will not be used for matching candidates to training posts, but will continue to be used for national monitoring.
As we have stressed before, not all training posts will be filled in the current round and there will therefore be further substantial opportunities for those who are not successful initially. The review group has agreed that this further recruitment will be locally planned and managed by the deaneries. An announcement of the process will be made shortly. Deaneries are continuing to work with the NHS and the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board to establish what additional training posts will be made available beyond the 23,000 training posts already available across the UK.
BMA crisis
Radical GP Sam Everington was at the head of the crisis-ridden BMA today after the shock departure of the organisation's chairman.
Doctors reported BMA phone lines being jammed over the weekend as angry juniors sought to phone in resignations following a series of mishaps afflicting the organisation.
BMA sources were said to have acknowledged at least 100 resignations - although other estimates suggest up to 1,000 doctors may have sought to quit.
Out-going BMA chair James Johnson had twice angered the profession by signing joint letters with Dame Carol Black defending the latest arrangements for MMC appointments.
One letter had seemed to threaten consultants with breach of contract if they persisted in boycotting interviews - as an influential professorial group had proposed. But juniors were angered by a second letter in the Times, defending chief medical officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson.
The BMA caused further anger when its lawyers were reported to have sided with the Department of Health at last week's judicial review of the MMC - a case funded by juniors from their own pockets through RemedyUK. The BMA claims it sent a barrister merely to set the record straight on its position - not to defend MTAS.
And there was further embarrassment when the cost of a BMA Council dinner last autumn was leaked - nearly £70,000.
Members of the BMA Council were said to have confronted Mr Johnson in emergency session yesterday morning.
Further fire came from Scotland where the nation's consultants' committee issued its own statement, condemning the Times letter.
Mr Johnson's departure leaves Dr Everington as the organisation's senior elected official.
However a BMA statement indicated he may not be confirmed as acting chair. With close links to Labour, he may be regarded as unsuitable to steer the organisation through the current crisis.
The statement says "interim" arrangements were yet to be confirmed as well as arrangements for electing a new chair.
Speaking to the BBC last night, Mr Johnson acknowledged: "This has caused huge anger among junior doctors which is the reason to limit damage to my association."
He reiterated his belief that he was justified in speaking up for Sir Liam, who as a civil servant could not defend his own role in MMC.
Mr Johnson said he had intended to stand down as chair next month.
Mr Johnson's co-signatory Dame Carol Black is also facing growing pressure, with dozens of doctors signing up to an informal poll on Doctors.net.uk demanding her departure.
Dr Richard Marks,a hospital consultant who headed the RemedyUK Legal Team, said on Friday: "I'm disappointed that the BMA presented a case against Remedy and supported the status quo. We had hoped that they would support our case."
The Royal College of Surgeons Withdraws From DH Review Group on MTASBernard Ribeiro, President of the Royal College of Surgeons has announced the College’s withdrawal from the ongoing discussions about the selection of junior doctors.
In an open letter to Professor Neil Douglas, Chair, DH MTAS Review Group, Mr Ribeiro warns that the DH has not made adequate transitional arrangements for a large number of well-trained, experienced and committed senior house officers who are in danger of being lost to the NHS.
He also said that it is his duty as President of the Royal College of Surgeons to ensure that the money invested in the training of this talented generation of young surgeons is not squandered. He has asked for 240 extra senior training posts over the next three years.
There is also a fundamental concern that trainees for specialist surgery are being selected too early in their career, before they have had a chance to prove their dexterity in the operating theatre.
Mr Ribeiro said,
“Almost two years after first raising my concerns, there is still no recognition whatsoever by the DH of the scale of this problem or its profound implications, far less the prospect of an acceptable solution in terms of a temporary expansion of national training numbers.
I am also concerned about the arrangements for selection of junior doctors into run-through surgical training programs. Surgery has unique requirements in terms of recruitment – the criteria for selection include diagnostic skills, clinical judgment and manual dexterity. It is neither practical, nor indeed safe, to select junior doctors with a view to a career in surgery without the opportunity for assessing whether they have the full mix of professional skills required.
It is with the greatest reluctance that I am dissociating myself and my College from any further involvement in the Review Group that you are chairing.”
Notes to Editors
The Royal College of Surgeons of England is committed to enabling surgeons to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. Registered charity number: 212808. For more information please visit
New FAQs for England ST 2007 Applicants
Published: 20 June 2007
By: MMC Team
Please note that these apply to England Applicants only.
FAQs for Applicants
1. If I decline an offer in Round 1, can I apply in Round 2?
Yes. If you decline all offers you receive during Round 1, you may re-apply in Round 2.
2. If I accepted an initial FTSTA offer in Round 1 (ie an offer made before 7th June) can I later decline the FTSTA if I am successful in getting an allocation to a run-through training programme in the second wave of Round 1 offers?
Yes. If you accept an FTSTA in Round 1 and you subsequently receive an offer for run-through training in the second wave of Round 1 offers, you can then decline your FTSTA offer and accept the run-through training post.
3. If I accept an FTSTA in Round 1, can I still apply for an ST or GP post in Round 2?
Yes. If you have accepted an FTSTA offer as part of Round 1, you may hold on to this offer in Round 2. You will still be able to compete for run-through training places in Round 2. However, if you have accepted a run-through training post in Round 1, you will not be able to apply.
4. If I have already accepted a run-through training post can I apply for other posts subsequently?
No. Your acceptance of a run-through training offer is binding and in the interests of other junior doctors still seeking posts you will be removed from the pool of candidates.
5. How can I access my MTAS application?
Only the UoA(s) you applied to can access your application. If you require access to your application, please contact the relevant UoA(s). You are not able to make changes to your application apart from your personal contact details (although you can make unlimited new applications if you enter Round 2).
6. How do I know if my references are outstanding?
If you are planning to accept an offer and are unsure whether your referee for that specialty has completed a reference for you, we would advise that you either contact them, or contact your deanery. A secure manual process has been developed for deaneries to obtain the outstanding references for successful applicants.
7. Can I defer my start date?
Requests for a deferred start date will be considered on a case-by-case basis. However, apart from statutory entitlement (eg maternity leave, illness), the only reason a request for a deferred start date will be considered is registration for a higher degree.
8. My partner and I had linked our applications. What happens to our link now? You will appreciate with the localisation of the allocation process, applicants may receive more than one offer and the ‘link’ between applications no longer applies. You and your partner should consider all offers you receive and make decisions that best suit you personal circumstances.
Round 2
9. I have not been offered any of the jobs I was really interested in as part of Round 1. What are my options?
Please bear in mind that not only is there a further round of recruitment scheduled to run until October 31st 2007, but that we are also creating extra training posts, Of these, 215 will be extra run-through training posts which will be opened as part of Round 2. However, we are also working with the NHS to create more FTSTA posts for the end of Round 2.
In the process of applying for posts within Round 2, we will be providing you with competition ratios for each specialty in each Deanery, as well as the number of vacancies, so that you can see where the best opportunities are. It is important to bear in mind that you may need to be flexible about your preferred specialty, and that a conversation with your clinical tutor about this may be constructive.
10. I am currently working in the NHS, What if my contract of employment is due to end while I am still looking for a post as part of this year’s recruitment round?
The Secretary of State for Health has said that all applicants who applied to MTAS who are in substantive NHS employment on 31st July should continue to have employment while they progress through Round 2.
This does not necessarily mean that you will continue in the same post, and it may even be necessary for you to move to another hospital. We have asked Strategic Health Authorities to ensure that you continue to have employment during Round 2. However, if you refuse a reasonable offer of temporary employment, then the NHS will be considered to have met this commitment.
11. How is ‘substantive NHS employment’ defined?
An applicant who is in ‘substantive NHS employment’ is an applicant who is in a Deanery-approved training post, or who has a substantive contract.
This covers all SHOs, registrars and Foundation doctors, plus LATs and staff/Trust grade service doctors. It excludes LASs and doctors on temporary or fixed term contracts in service posts.
12. What are the details for Round 2?
Round 2 will be managed locally and the process may vary between deaneries. However, national guidance to applicants is available here.
13. Can I apply to a different specialty in Round 2?
Yes. If you have declined all offers, or are not successful in Round 1, you may reapply to different specialties in Round 2.
14. Can I apply at a different level in Round 2?
If you met the entry criteria for the different level as at 5 February 2007, then you may apply at a different level in Round 2. However, if college exams are an entry criterion for the different level and you did not have confirmation of having passed your exams by 5 February 2007, then you are not eligible for the higher level.
15. I did not Register with MTAS, Can I apply for a post as part of Round Two?
No. Only those applicants who enrolled in the first round of recruitment on MTAS and who have not accepted an offer of a run-through training place within that round will be able to apply. Deaneries will check this before applications are considered for interview.
16. How many applications can I make?
You will be able to make unlimited new applications, regardless of Deanery or specialty. You will not be required to give information about your preferences between Units of Application.
17. What is the process for Round 2 GP allocations?
For more information about the GP recruitment process, please go to the GP recruitment website:
18. Will I be able to use the responses from my MTAS application form for my Round 2 application?
The questions in Round 2 may be different. If you wish to refer to your MTAS application form, and did not keep a copy for your records, you will need to contact the relevant UoA(s) and ask them to provide a copy for you.
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