GMC opens first detailed survey of LE and SAS doctors for seven years

A detailed survey, the first since 2019, of tens of thousands of UK doctors working in LE (locally employed) and SAS (specialty, associate specialist, and specialist) roles opens today.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is asking the two cohorts of doctors – thought to total around 85,000 across the UK – about their roles, motivations, workplace experiences and their access to training and development.

The last time the regulator conducted such a comprehensive survey of LE and SAS doctors was seven years ago. That revealed many faced challenges in career progression, as well as suffering unfair treatment such as rudeness and incivility. 

Since then, the GMC has strengthened guidance for all doctors on professional behaviours and speaking up, and established stronger relationships with LE and SAS doctor stakeholders.

It has also made access to the specialist register more flexible and evidence-based for doctors who have not completed a UK training programme, benefitting many doctors in LE and SAS roles.

But concerns remain that LE and SAS doctors, who are skilled and often experienced practitioners who are not in formal training to become consultants or GPs, may not have the same access to development opportunities as their colleagues.

Data from the survey, which opens today and runs for six weeks until Tuesday 2 June, will directly feed into the GMC’s ongoing work to review future medical education and training.

That review, the first for more than a decade, will take place over the next five years and will look at the standards, design, outcomes and delivery of doctors’ education, training and career development.

GMC Chief Executive Charlie Massey says:

‘There are growing numbers of doctors in LE and SAS roles. Understanding what they experience at work, and how they see their careers, is important not just for future workforce planning but also for good patient care.

‘This an opportunity for those tens of thousands of doctors, who do such valuable work across the UK’s health services, to tell us about their day-to-day workplace realities, both good and bad.

‘The more voices we hear from the more meaningful, powerful and valuable the results of this survey will be, for us and for everyone working across the UK’s healthcare systems.’

Dr Umesh Salanke is Medical Director for postgraduate and undergraduate medical education at Birmingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and has long been an advocate for LE doctors. He says:

‘For too long, the narrative around workforce has been shaped by data that doesn’t fully capture the experience of LE doctors. Taking part in this survey isn’t just about highlighting problems, it’s an opportunity to make the invisible, visible, and to provide the evidence needed to build solutions.’

Dr Amit Kochhar chairs of the British Medical Association (BMA) Representative Body, is a former Chair of the BMA’s SAS Committee and has long worked to support SAS doctors. He says:

‘By taking part in the GMC’s survey, doctors can directly shape the support, recognition and working conditions for this vital part of the workforce. It’s an opportunity to turn lived experience into meaningful change, by providing invaluable insights that can drive real improvements.’

The GMC’s survey of LE and SAS doctors is open from now until Tuesday 2 June, and can be accessed here.