Dr Mumtaz Patel, RCP acting president and vice president of education and training, said:   

‘Preparing the next generation of doctors to meet the future demands of our health service is essential for restoring the NHS and delivering first-class patient care. We welcome this commitment to review the number and frequency of training rotations (and redesign curriculums where needed) and we look forward to seeing more detail.  

‘In our pre-election manifesto for medicine, the RCP called for a comprehensive review of postgraduate medical training. It is time to acknowledge the evolving landscape of medicine and the changing medical workforce by looking at how doctors want to learn and work in the future, so we can ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide high-quality, patient-centred care and have fulfilling careers. 

‘We are also pleased to see DHSC announce that NHS England will review training numbers and address training bottlenecks. Our manifesto for medicine also called for an expansion of postgraduate training places, protected time for education and career development, a plan to support educators and supervisors to increase capacity for medical training, and improved granularity of specialty workforce data to inform the number of specialty training places in the future. 

‘This review could be a vital opportunity to resolve some of the issues faced by those in the early stages of their career and we stand ready to work with the UK government to shape it. After all, the resident doctors of today are the medical leaders of tomorrow.’  

Dr Melanie Nana and Dr Megan Rutter, outgoing co-chairs of the RCP Trainees Committee (TC) said:  

 ‘This commitment from DHSC to carry out a review of postgraduate medical training, with the intention to reform training rotations and curricula delivery where needed, has the potential to be a significant step forward. 

‘As outgoing RCP TC co-chairs, we have been meeting regularly with Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Steve Powis over the past few months, highlighting concerns around working conditions and career development with them, and seeking to collaborate on solutions, including rotation frequency.  

‘Day in, day out, early career doctors play a vital role in delivering essential patient care in hospitals across the country. A training pathway designed around the lives of doctors, not the system, has the potential to reduce burnout and ensure a highly skilled and sustainable NHS workforce. Identified as a priority, this is why a comprehensive review of postgraduate medical training to look at how doctors will want to learn and work in the future was a key pre-election campaign call from the RCP. 

‘The RCP Trainees Committee (TC) has voted to change its name to the RCP Resident Doctor Committee (RDC), but will of course continue to advocate for early career doctors to ensure they have the best possible career and educational development opportunities.’