Fighting on
Remedy UK have decided to fight on inspite of the most recent fudge from the Review Group. I am reproducing their statement below.
Dear Colleague,
It has been a challenging time for Remedy UK recently. The Review Group’s most recent fudge is not acceptable, and we have been hard at work to find a solution which we think is fair and equitable.
We understand that there is a certain amount of battle weariness amongst people, both interviewers and candidates, but in our view this is not a reason to back down.
RemedyUK agree with the respondents of surveys performed by us, the RCS and the BMJ, who believe that the only fair solution is to scrap MTAS and a return to the old system of local/deanery applications.
We all know colleagues that have not been shortlisted and we will know colleagues that will be without employment in August. We feel it is up to us as a profession to stand up for what is right and not let this system ‘fatally’ damage any doctor’s career. We realise that there are people with 3 or 4 interviews who are happy with the current proposals, and the plan we offer may not be acceptable to everyone. But it does offer the best solution against the ‘one shot for life’ that is the inevitable result of the Review Group’s decision. We need to act for the greater good as a profession and try to set aside our individual biases.
First of all let us dispel some of the myths.
Our legal advice is that there are serious flaws in the process.
We all want to return to the safety of the old system, but with only months left before August, time is tight.For a judicial review to work we would need two things:
Firstly to prove that the Review Board’s solution is unlawful.
Secondly we need to provide an alternative solution which is implementable and will have doctors in posts in August. This is the tricky bit.The judge will always rule in favour of patient safety, so even if we’re legally in the right, we will still lose if we propose an unworkable solution.
So - if we propose returning to the old system as our solution, the DOH will line up every HR dept and Deanery representative in the land to provide evidence that it cannot be done, and we’ll lose.
Unlike the Review Group, Remedy has no vested interest in the MMC process. We can propose solutions with no bias either way, so to learn that the old system is not an option for August has been a bitter pill for all of us to swallow.
So that ship has sailed. But there may be another solution.
We believe that MTAS should be scrapped and that the old system of local/deanery applications, while not perfect, is the fairest, and most accepted, system currently available. The advice we have received is that it is not possible to return to this system in time to appoint all applicants by August.
We therefore propose that the posts allocated via the MTAS scheme for August will be temporary training posts.
In February 2008 we return to the old system of direct or deanery applications for ‘old style’ SHO posts/SpR national training numbers.
We also want a declaration from the Department of Health that MTAS will never be used in its current form again. It is unacceptable that doctors should be treated the way they have been as a result of MTAS. We are not numbers, we are professionals.
The benefits of this solution are that we return to a system that is tried and tested and that we know works. Although this cannot be achieved by August, it can be achieved by February. We can then start again with the DoH and negotiate a new solution with proper consultation. But in the meantime we will revert to the safety of a system that has worked for years.
We are aiming for long term stability and confidence in a system that selects trainees to become consultants.
We understand that some people will feel frustrated by this, but it is not fair that good candidates do not get a job as a result of the MTAS process. We will all know people that will fall into this category and will have to face them.
Since the GP application system has been working well, we will not meddle with it.
The major issue that has been overshadowed by the MTAS debacle is the shortfall in posts.
In the period between now and February, RemedyUK and the profession as a whole have an opportunity to lobby for increased training numbers.
Please see our website for details of the Mass Lobby at the House of Commons on April 24th.We need your views on this proposal. We must instruct our legal team early next week if we are to proceed. RemedyUK is committed to representing the profession. Your views will influence our action.
Please contact us at LegalChallenge@RemedyUK.org
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