LONDON (Reuters), Apr 25 - Thousands of junior doctors are set to work overseas due to flaws in recruitment to medical training, the British Medical Association (BMA) warned on Tuesday.
More than half of junior doctors surveyed by the BMA are likely to leave the country if they do not secure a job through the government's training program.
The first round of the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) is currently under way, and the BMA said that more than 34,000 doctors are chasing 18,500 U.K. posts, due to start in August.
The computerized recruitment process to select candidates for specialist training has come in for heavy criticism for its inefficiency. It threatens to undermine doctors' morale and could affect patients, the BMA said.
"The NHS could lose thousands of its best young doctors simply because of poor planning," said Dr Jo Hilborne, chairman of the BMA's junior doctors committee. "It's unfair on them, it's unfair on their patients, and it's unfair on the taxpayers who've funded their training."
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has apologized to junior doctors for the anxiety caused over the introduction of the new system.
Only a few percent out of more than 600 applicants surveyed by the BMA believe they will ever get into long-term training if their current applications are unsuccessful.
The BMA asked 648 applicants about their intentions if their MTAS applications were unsuccessful.
More than half (55%) said they would be likely to seek a training opportunity overseas and complete their entire training there.
Effectively this would keep them out of the NHS for at least five years and, in many cases, for their whole careers, the BMA said.
Medical training reforms will be debated in an opposition day debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Last Updated: 2007-04-24 13:00:46 -0400 (Reuters Health)
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