Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that medical students receive adequate training during hospital placements.

The standard of training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC), who set the outcomes and standards expected at undergraduate level. Medical schools are responsible for their curricula, and for ensuring that they deliver high quality placements that enable their students to meet the GMC’s requirements. The GMC have issued guidance on placement quality, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/education/standards-guidance-and-curricula/guidance/undergraduate-clinical-placements/guidance-on-undergraduate-clinical-placements

In addition, placements must meet NHS England’s Quality Framework, which is monitored locally in collaboration with medical schools, and is available at the following link:

https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/quality