Dr Ben Molyneux, a general practice trainee in London, was today (September 29th 2012) elected as the new chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee1. Dr Molyneux succeeds Dr Tom Dolphin who steps down2 after serving a year as chair and a year as co-chair.
Dr Molyneux has signalled that safeguarding the quality of training will be a key priority for the year ahead. Speaking after his election he said:
“The economic climate in the NHS coupled with major changes introduced by the Health and Social Care Act has created a perfect storm for the potential erosion of high quality medical training. We have already seen evidence that the financial pressures are taking their toll on medical training. In the south of England some trainees3 have been forced to complete two placements in psychiatry because the trust is short staffed. Junior doctors should not be denied a rounded training programme which exposes them to a range of specialties.
“A recent BMA survey of junior doctors’ career intentions4 showed that half of those questioned said they were more likely to leave the NHS to work overseas after training compared to two years ago. This would represent a massive potential loss to the NHS. Continued pay freezes and the raid on doctors’ pensions will further demoralise a profession who face an intense and lengthy training programme.
“I hope there will be opportunities for the BMA to work closely with the government to address the concerns of junior doctors and that they will work in partnership with us to improve the quality of training.”
