Healthier Horizons CFWI: Shape of the Medical Workforce: Informing Medical Specialty Training Numbers

Healthier Horizons

CFWI: Shape of the Medical Workforce: Informing Medical Specialty Training Numbers

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The Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CFWI) is an independent agency working on specific projects for the Department of Health(DH) and is an operating unit within

Mouchel Management Consulting Limited.

The report “Shape of the Medical Workforce: Informing Medical Specialty Training Numbers” published

16-08-11, was prepared for the DH by Mouchel Management Consulting in its role as operator of the

CFWI


The Start of Training: from undergraduate to Foundation Programme

Training the future medical workforce begins at undergraduate level, the length of undergraduate training is dictated by European Union (EU) Directives

It takes approximately 12 years from entering medical school to gain a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and often longer if additional training or experience is sought



UK medical school intake per year increased from 2000 in 1960 to almost 8000 in 2010

According to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), medical school places for 2011/12 will remain at the 2010/11 levels



Foundation Programme jobs are under an employment contract but also have a commitment to provide training in the course of the employment. Therefore medical workforce planning need to consider the forecast demand for work at this level, the future workforce requirements of more senior trainees and the future CCT workforce, in conjunction with the commissioning of medical school entry places and forecasted UK graduates



The Health Education National Strategic Exchange (HENSE) has approved a programme of work, to review medical and dental undergraduate numbers

This work will consider future demand and will take account of the impact of current policy on the future medical workforce


Core Training: workforce planning issues

Recommendations are based on the medium-term workforce projections for each of the medical specialities and involve changes to the recruitment numbers entering specialty training

There are two potential risks associated to changing recruitment to specialty training: - Securing the pipeline- Failing to change the opportunities at core training level



By 2014, with full implementation of the CFWI recommendations, the average number of recycled National Training Numbers (NTNs) available for recruitment into ST3 for the surgical and physician based training will be just over 1436, a reduction of 117 from the current number



Without action, the gap between specialty training opportunities and core training in these areas will increase and may result in:

- core trainees being displaced and unable to progress into specialty training

- trainees not choosing other specialty areas where a need has been identified


Smaller Specialities: workforce planning issues

The General Medical Council (GMC) currently recognises 61 different medical specialities, many of these are represented in the consultant workforce of every district hospital

The risk of inappropriate education commissioning was identified by the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deaneries (COPMED) Workforce Group in 2005


Smaller Specialities: workforce planning issues

There is no agreed definition for small specialities or a process for educational commissioning

There is a risk that local service commissioning may overlook cases which may affect a handful of the population.

Local education commissioning may in turn fail to consider the need to provide this workforce


Clinical Academic: workforce planning issues

The Government response to the Future Forum report (DH,2011) supported the important role of clinical academia and their role in supporting commissioning


CFWI Improvement Plan

CFWI have identified the following specific areas for improvement:

- stakeholder consultation

- modelling

- data and assumptions

- knowledge


Further Information

The full report can be found here http://www.cfwi.org.uk/intelligence/projects/shape-of-the-medical-workforce-informing-medical-training-numbers

and the specialty recommendations can be found here http://www.cfwi.org.uk/intelligence/shape-of-the-medical-workforce-informing-medical-specialty-training-numbers/cfwi-medical-fact-sheets-2011

Documents

Healthier Horizons CFWI: Shape of the Medical Workforce: Informing Medical Specialty Training Numbers