§ Mr. Burtasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is yet in a position to report progress on the recent negotiations on the hospital medical career structure; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonFollowing the consultative document "Hospital Medical Staffing: Achieving a Balance" published in July last year the steering group which I chair, has today published its subsequent report "Hospital Medical Staffing: Achieving a Balance—Plan for Action".
The various measures in the report are based on three principal needs:
- —to increase the number of consultants, to provide both the leadership and the career opportunities an expanding service requires;
- —sensible planning of the numbers of doctors in training grades, taking account of career prospects;
- —maintenance of the necessary levels of support for consultants, particularly in the acute specialties.
The purpose of the reforms is to improve the quality of care doctors will be giving to their patients, by increasing the extent to which fully trained doctors are involved in direct patient care and in the supervision of their junior staff and by making a career in the hospital service more secure and therefore more attractive.
The reforms have already begun, with the announcement in February of 45 new consultant posts this year, and a further 55 on offer next year. Other parts of the package will be introduced over the next few months, so that work will have started on all parts of it by next April. Completing the programme of reform, in particular to achieve the right balance between doctors in training and career posts, is however expected to take several years.