The future for medical training - the employers' perspective

NHS Employers hosted a series of half day workshops across England throughout July 2008 providing an opportunity for employers to learn about plans for medical training in 2009 and express their views and help form strategies for the future. Over 200 delegates took part in the workshops - a clear message that the future training and career structures for doctors is still a major issue for employers.

Presentations from these workshops are now available to download. Click here for more details.

Workshops report

A range of senior figures from the HR community across the NHS chaired the events, bringing a service perspective to the workshops, including:

• Manchester: Dean Royles, Director of Workforce and Education, NHS North West
• Birmingham: Sue Wakeman, Director Of Human Resources, Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust
• London: Angela Huxham, Interim HR Director, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT

Key members of the Department of Health's MMC team then provided a comprehensive review of how we got to where we are in medical training policy and what plans the team were putting in place to develop strategies for 2009 and beyond.

The presentation form the MMC team covered:

• recap on the history of MMC and the experiences of 2007
• summary of how MMC recruitment and structures are working in 2008
• brief overview of the big issues including the Tooke report, Health Select Committee recommendations and Lord Darzi's Next Stage Review.
• outline of plans for 2009
• some predictions on what the future may hold.

David Grantham, Head of programmes at NHS Employers, introduced the interactive element of each event. A short presentation provided a background to medical workforce numbers and current issues, provoking delegates to think about what this could mean for the shape of the workforce in 10 to 15 years time through group and plenary discussion.

Feedback from the group discussions will equip NHS employers with the information we need to take forward the employers' viewpoint at the MMC programme board and other forums discussing medical workforce issues. We will be publishing a report in the autumn outlining your views. A short summary of the discussion is available in the Medical workforce section of our website.

Initial comments received from attendees have been very positive, with an overwhelming majority stating that they found the event a valuable experience, thought provoking and that it provided a real opportunity for their views to be heard.

What did you think?

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make the event a huge success.

The feedback we get from delegates helps us to shape future events. If you attended a 'Planning the future for medical training - the employers' perspective' workshop and have not yet shared your thoughts and comments on the event, please do so by filling out an evaluation form online.