LONDON
The Royal College of Surgeons has announced its withdrawal from the Review Group on MTAS.

In an open letter to Professor Neil Douglas, Chair of the MTAS Review Group, the college warns that the DH has not made adequate transitional arrangements for a large number of senior house officers who are in danger of being lost to the NHS. 

Mr Bernard Ribeiro, President of the RCS, expressed his frustration at continued attempts to persuade the DH of the unique requirements for surgical trainees:

“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.”

He called for 240 extra training posts over the next three years and expressed concern that trainees are being selected too early in their career before they have had a chance to prove their dexterity in the operating theatre.

“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,” he said.

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