Reacting to the announcement that NHS England has today launched a 鈥淭en Point plan鈥 to improve the working lives of 75,000 resident doctors, Professor Rowan Parks, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said.
鈥淲e are pleased with today鈥檚 announcement that we hope will properly address many of the underlining issues around annual leave, rotations and payroll that are negatively impacting resident doctors training and quality of life.
鈥淲e are acutely aware of the disruption that rotations can have on resident doctors, requiring them to work in different locations at little notice and often without the range of mentoring and support they need. The commitment to give doctors detailed rotas six weeks before their rotations are due to start, and piloting further reforms to rotations over the next three months, is extremely welcome.
Similarly, the requirement that Trusts develop action plans to improve the working environment and wellbeing of resident doctors within 12 weeks and that they appoint a name, senior clinical lead and a resident doctor to report to their boards on resident doctor issues, reassure us that these issues are being taken seriously.
鈥淲e therefore hope this Ten Point Plan will help improve resident doctors鈥 lives, improve their training experience and maintain high-quality surgical services.鈥