British Medical Association (BMA) slams MMC chaos despite new review

The British Medical Association (BMA) has continued to express concern regarding the government's handling of NHS training reforms, following complaints that the application process for specialist roles was mismanaged.

Despite the fact that health secretary Patricia Hewitt has announced an independent review that would "clarify and strengthen" the underlying principles of the Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) programme, the BMA said the Government's approach has been "appalling".

The review will establish how the MMC programme will go forward in 2008 and will "clarify and strengthen" the principles underlying the scheme to ensure that they have support from the medical profession.

Jo Hilborne, chairperson of the BMA's junior doctors' committee, said: "The BMA has been warning for years that MMC was being rushed in too quickly, to the detriment of patient care.

"It's depressing that it's taken a disaster on this scale for them to listen. We need solutions that ensure that no doctor in training loses out on a career as a result of Government mistakes or poor workforce planning."

Ms Hewitt apologised to junior doctors after complaints that the MMC programme had failed to deliver the best results and she guaranteed that every junior doctor will get an interview for the speciality of their choice.

Source material: DoH press release.


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