Climbdown over NHS jobs for junior doctors

LONDON, Mar 10 (Reuters) The government has backed down in a row over the computerised selection of junior doctors for specialist National Health Service posts after hundreds of the most capable applicants failed even to win interviews.

Medics who were rejected by the computerised recruitment system last week will be able to have their applications re-examined, the Department of Health announced late yesterday.

Doctors will be able to submit a full CV and medical portfolio to support their applications, rather than just answering a series of online questions which restricted their responses to 150 words each.

''I know that this has been a difficult time for junior doctors,'' said Health Minister Lord Hunt.

''I hope that this reassures them that we have listened to their concerns, and that our goal is the same as theirs: to find the right people for the right jobs for the benefit of the NHS, its patients and its staff.'' There are 30,000 junior doctors chasing 22,000 specialist posts in a shake-up of medical training designed to shorten the time taken to reach consultant level.

There were fears that many rejected in the first round last week would seek jobs abroad or enter private practice.

This week Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt ordered a review of the new selection process following a torrent of complaints from trainee doctors and medical bodies.

The British Medical Association called the system ''fatally flawed'' while the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said the recruitment process had rejected some of the ''brightest and most able of their generation''.

The Royal College of Surgeons welcomed the government's swift U-turn. The Department of Health had previously insisted any changes would have to wait until a second recruitment round at the end of April.

''Surgeons will now use full CVs and the customary structured interview to select candidates for jobs rather than relying on a computerised selection process which has clearly failed and has caused deep distress to both trainees and those tasked with their selection,'' the surgeons' college said a statement, the Daily Telegraph reported.

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