Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider reviewing the geographical areas within which resident doctors are expected to relocate during specialty training.

We recognise the importance of location stability for doctors in training and the impact that frequent relocations can have on wellbeing, retention, and workforce planning.

A review into postgraduate medical training is already underway. The first phase of the review has now concluded, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/the-medical-training-review-phase-1-diagnostic-report/

The next phase of the review will involve working with a wide range of stakeholders across the system to design a package of reform.

Alongside this review, a review of rotational training is currently in progress and is being led by the Department, along with NHS England and the British Medical Association.

NHS England’s 10 Point Plan to improve resident doctors’ working lives, published on 29 August, contains a commitment to reduce the impact of rotations upon resident doctors’ lives while maintaining service delivery. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/10-point-plan-to-improve-resident-doctors-working-lives/