Key messages
- Summary
- Key messages
- Patients and the public need more doctors who are capable of providing general care in broad specialties across a range of different settings. This is being driven by a growing number of people with multiple co-morbidities, an ageing population, health inequalities and increasing patient expectations.
- We will continue to need doctors who are trained in more specialised areas to meet local patient and workforce needs.
- Postgraduate training needs to adapt to prepare medical graduates to deliver safe and effective general care in broad specialties.
- Medicine has to be a sustainable career with opportunities for doctors to change roles and specialties throughout their careers.
- Local workforce and patient needs should drive opportunities to train in new specialties or to credential in specific areas.
- Doctors in academic training pathways need a training structure that is flexible enough to allow them to move in and out of clinical training while meeting the competencies and standards of that training.
- Full registration should move to the point of graduation from medical school, provided there are measures in place to demonstrate graduates are fit to practise at the end of medical school. Patients’ interests must be considered first and foremost as part of this change.
- Implementation of the recommendations must be carefully planned on a UK-wide basis and phased in. This transition period will allow the stability of the overall system to be maintained while reforms are being made.
- A UK-wide delivery group should be formed immediately to oversee the implementation of the recommendations.
