Heath correspondent, Wales
Many resident doctors are facing unemployment this summer because insufficient training places have been funded in Wales, a union has warned.
Resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – can start speciality training after two years, to progress their careers and pursue a particular area of medicine such as neurology, dermatology or general practice.
However, a survey by doctors’ union BMA Cymru Wales suggests as many as 40% are facing unemployment as there are not enough training places.
Some told the union they had applied for 30 posts without securing an offer.
The Welsh government said it was working with governments across the UK to explore solutions.
BMA Cymru Wales said Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW) recommended expanding the number of specialty training places to cope with the growing number of people training to be doctors in Wales.
It claimed that had not been taken on board by the Welsh government.
After graduation, resident doctors carry out two years of foundation training, but can start specialty training after two years, to become a consultant.
The BMA claim that data obtained through freedom of information requests shows a significant increase in the number of applicants for these places across the UK, without a corresponding rise in the number of places available.
The Welsh government said there had been an increase of 342 specialty training posts and 222 foundation posts.
But the survey by BMA points to dissatisfaction among resident doctors who were not on their preferred career paths.
One said: “I have had to apply for over 200 jobs to secure a slot that’s below my level and doesn’t advance my career.”
Chairman of the BMA’s Welsh resident doctor committee Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu said: “At a time when Wales needs more doctors, there are limited opportunities for resident doctors to develop their careers in the country where they trained.
“Earlier this year, we wrote to the cabinet secretary for health and social care warning him of the potential impact of not expanding training places, including medical unemployment.”
The anonymous survey heard from one doctor: “I was unemployed for several months and despite travelling nationally for any locum shifts available, I was unable to get enough to pay all bills. Locum shifts are scarce.”
Another said: “I’ve acquired tens of thousands of pounds of student and personal debt funding medical school and now struggle to find a job. I’ve applied for emergency medicine training two years in a row, a specialty desperate for extra trainees, but the number of jobs haven’t increased.”
Dr Babs-Osibodu added: “Doctors are now forced to seek ad hoc locum work, leave Wales, or leave the profession altogether. Poor workforce planning and chronic underfunding of the NHS has led to a national shortage of doctors in Wales.
“This is unsafe for patients, and we need to see urgent intervention from the Welsh government, including legislation to provide safer staffing levels and an expansion in specialty training places.
“By alleviating bottlenecks in the training pipeline, we can enable doctors to progress their careers and provide the specialist care that patients desperately need.”
The Welsh government said: “We’re currently investing £294m into health professional education and training in Wales.
“We have supported a significant increase in the number of postgraduate medical training posts and since 2019, there has been an increase of 342 specialty training posts and 222 foundation posts. We now have approximately 1,900 trainees in secondary care training programmes, and 900 in foundation training, as well as 160 GP training places every year.
“We continue to work closely with governments across the UK to explore solutions.”
