Call for new doctor training body

The final report into the chaos that led thousands of young medics to take to the streets in protest has concluded that the Government should be stripped of responsibility for the system.

The Independent Inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers (MMC), led by Professor Sir John Tooke, recommends that money to train the next generation of doctors should be ring-fenced and taken out of Department of Health (DoH) control.

The inquiry was set up by then-health secretary Patricia Hewitt last May. She faced calls to quit over the debacle surrounding MTAS (the Medical Training Application Service), the process used for selecting trainee doctors for specialist training.

The new national body, the NHS Medical Education England (NHS: MEE), would resolve many of the "functional deficiencies" identified in the interim report, which was published in October.

MMC was intended to reform postgraduate medical education and training and speed up the production of fully-trained specialists, cutting the number of years it takes for junior doctors to reach consultant level from about 14 years to 11.

Last year 32,649 applicants competed for 23,247 specialist training posts. Medics complained that application forms were badly worded and resulted in many of the best candidates not being granted interviews.

Sir John's interim report found that the Government's reforms of medical training were rushed and lacked cohesion. It discovered evidence of weak DoH policy development, implementation and governance. Risks over MTAS were recognised as early as 2005, yet there were repeated assurances that the system was on schedule and deliverable.

Sir John's team recommended a radical overhaul of MMC, saying the present system was unlikely to encourage or reward "striving for excellence" or offer trainees flexibility.

The interim report, which was subject to consultation, received "overwhelming support", with 87% of 1,440 consultees agreeing with the recommendations and 4% expressing disagreement. The final report said the new NHS: MEE would "hold the ring-fenced budget for medical education and training for England" and "co-ordinate coherent advice to Government on matters relating to medical education".