Targeted training supports proposals to help GP trainees

Health Education England (HEE) has announced it will support a number of proposals that could enable doctors who did not successfully complete their GP training to re-enter the programme.

It also has acknowledged that previous experience of doctors from other specialties needs to be taken into account.

Health Education England has been looking at increasing the period of additional training time for GP trainees to bring it more in line with other specialties. It fully consulted with stakeholders including the Royal College of General Practitioners, General Medical Council, British Medical Association and Committee of Directors (CoGPED) on proposals to: support doctors from other specialties to enter GP training; enable the re-entry to training for those who were progressing in training but were unable to pass one part of the MRCGP qualification in the time permitted; and increase the extension to GP training.

In addition, the proposal relating to supporting overseas doctors who need additional training to fulfil the GMCs GP Registration requirements is now being taken forward as a separate proposal.

The proposals seek to further address differential attainment in training. There have been considerable advances in the support over recent years, but for some doctors three years is insufficient time in training to meet the required standards.

Simon Gregory, director and dean of education and quality, Midlands and East, said: “We are very grateful to the many people and organisations that responded to our consultation. The resulting amended proposals which we publish today offer a number of routes to support doctors to enter and successfully complete GP Training whilst maintaining the gold standard of MRCGP as exit criteria. In particular, this would help doctors who are progressing in training but not able to do so sufficiently in the time allowed.”

Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, has responded to the proposals, saying: "The college's number one priority is, and always will be, patient safety. General practice is under intense resource and workforce pressures, and we desperately need more family doctors practising in the UK, but not through the back door, and not at the expense of the trust and confidence patients have in their GP.

"We estimate that around 250 candidates could be eligible for Targeted GP Training according to these proposals. That is those who have passed their Workplace Based Assessment, but have failed either the Applied Knowledge Test or Clinical Skills Assessment the maximum number of times, between 2010-2016. Compared to the thousands more GPs we need in the workforce, this is a modest number and it is important that we do not generate false hope for these ‘targeted’ candidates, as these proposed new measures would not guarantee their success.

"The College is open to any proposal that intends to safely increase the number of GPs practising in UK general practice – and we have cooperated fully and positively with HEE and others throughout this consultation process. But important recommendations from the College, such as a set time frame for the proposals, are not outlined clearly enough in this report, and will need to be addressed."