SAS Week 23: SAS workforce webinar

The presentation provided our first analysis of NHS contracts for SAS and LE doctors in England and Wales, where data is currently available to us. We recognise the importance of wider debate about this and hope our data can help support policy conversations where LE and SAS doctors are concerned, as well as the wider UK health services. However, our data is not able to answer why SAS numbers may not be growing.

Yes, we’re looking at what other data is available, such as NHS contracts data that would allow us to perform the same analysis in Scotland and Northern Ireland. 

The recently published The state of medical education and practice in the UK workforce report 2023 expands on this. The report found that 46% of the LE doctors across 2014 to 2021 were non-UK graduates who had worked in the UK for less than five years. However, there were substantial proportions of UK graduates with less than five years’ experience (19%) too. That proportion was similar to the doctors with five or more years experience, with a UK primary medical qualification (PMQ) (18%) or non-UK PMQ (17%).

The data available to us doesn’t allow us to report UK wide on SAS and LE as separate cohorts or as a combined group. Because of this we cannot separate out the medical register in this way in full.

The graph of combined SAS/LE in our GMC Data Explorer was removed due to these limitations in the data we’re able to accurately report on. We don’t want to publish inaccurate or misleading data. 

However, our 2022 Barometer survey allowed us to carry out separate analysis of SAS and LE doctors for the first time. We’ll continue to publish analysis and data about these two separate cohorts in our The State of medical education and practice in the UK reports while we explore what improvements in our data could be possible.

We present all our The state of medical education and practice in the UK data tables with splits by gender. We’ve previously analysed doctors that leave the UK workforce but later return (see page 44 in The state of medical education and practice in the UK: The workforce report 2019). However, this did not cover the specific question about trainees returning as SAS doctors after time away.

No. We don’t collect data on why doctors go into SAS roles.

The Barometer survey is an independently contracted survey designed to be representative of the UK doctor population. It has been carried out annually since 2019. The sample used is a stratified random sample of the UK register and we are confident that it is representative of the medical workforce having carried out statistical comparisons. Further explanation and details of the Barometer survey 2022 can be found in the ‘A note on research and data’ section of The state of medical education and practice in the UK Workplace experiences 2023.

The Barometer survey is designed to explore the workplace experiences of all UK doctors. As well as SAS doctors and LE doctors, the survey sample includes doctors in training, doctors on the specialist register, and GPs. 

The Barometer survey 2022 data tables, available on The state of medical education and practice in the UK page of our website, include breakdowns by the four countries of the UK. Our new working paper, Spotlight on SAS doctors and LE doctors: analysis of Barometer survey 2022 results, includes an explanation of the constraints on reporting on SAS doctors and LE doctors by UK nation due to sample size. 

The Barometer survey 2022 data tables are available on The state of medical education and practice in the UK page of our website, along with the full Barometer survey 2022 report and follow-up trainer interviews report. The state of medical education and practice in the UK Workplace experiences 2023 suggests approaches to breaking the vicious cycle of work pressures in the short term, and considerations for the future. We share this report with a range of key stakeholders, including workforce planners, employers, and Royal Colleges to help inform their planning. Our outreach team works across the UK, collaborating with the service to understand the issues faced at local level. 

The state of medical education and practice in the UK Workplace experiences 2023 sets out how the vicious cycle of work pressures can be broken by virtuous cycles that improve workplace conditions, and suggests practical steps organisations can take to improve satisfaction and wellbeing. The report provides a range of evidence-based findings that show how doctors across the UK workforce can be supported. 

We recently hosted a round table event with key stakeholders to discuss this, and other emerging data about the experiences of SAS doctors and LE doctors.

The Barometer survey 2022 data tables are available on The state of medical education and practice in the UK page of our website where data about consultants and SAS grade are provided for general wider use. We don’t collect details about workplace responsibilities and terms for each grade which would be necessary to compare the two cohorts beyond this level of detail.

Our support for continuing professional development and expectations around it apply to all doctors. 

Our webpage on changes to how doctors demonstrate the standard required for specialist and GP registration gives an overview of this subject. If you have any questions, please contact our specialist applications team on 0161 923 6602 or via email equivalence@gmc-uk.org.