Majority of new consultants take up posts where they trained, say new RCP survey findings
Royal College of Physicians
We are a global physician community - educating, improving and influencing for better health and care.
📝In brief
RCP reports back from Labour party conference 2025
The RCP attended The Labour Party conference in Liverpool and raised key issues including workforce, health inequalities – particularly air quality – digital and AI, and social care.
Professor Mumtaz Patel , president of the RCP, said:
‘The RCP has been in Liverpool engaging with key political stakeholders in government and parliament, hosting panel events and attending convened roundtables to advocate on behalf of our members and their patients.’
RCP responds to new NHS online hospital plans
The RCP has welcomed NHS England’s online hospital plans, but warned that integration, quality and workforce training must be central to their success.
Professor Mumtaz Patel, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said:
‘This is an ambitious idea, but if implemented well, this concept could scale up good practice across England, reduce variation in care and improve access for more patients. We support giving patients more control and choice over their health, but it’s crucial that we also maintain high standards, improve integration and carefully consider the workforce and training implications.’
Majority of new consultants take up posts where they trained: new RCP survey findings show that NHS should improve training experience to recruit and retain senior doctors
The RCP has published the results of its annual survey of doctors who attained their certificate of completion of training (CCT) in 2024. This is run in partnership with the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB), the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPSG).
The survey also found that three-quarters of new consultants chose to remain in the trust or health board where they trained, demonstrating the need for employers to provide a high-quality training experience if they want to retain resident doctors and ensure that, in future, they have a talent pipeline of senior consultants.
📢Media
Doctors ‘have no clear career path’ amid rise in competition for training posts
Daily Mail, Independent, MSN, LBC Radio
In light of new NHS figures showing increased competition ratios for certain posts in 2025, the RCP has called for an ‘urgent expansion’ in medical training places in England. RCP president Professor Mumtaz Patel said:
‘We hear loud and clear the concerns from our early career doctors who have dedicated years of studying, training, exams and service to the NHS ... they deserve better.’ Dr Stephen Joseph, co-chair of the RCP’s Resident Doctor Committee, added that the many resident doctors who are now left in limbo and potentially facing unemployment represent a ‘significant loss of investment for the health service’.
Positive progress towards NHS interim carbon footprint targets
Hospital Healthcare Europe
Hospital Healthcare Europe reported that the NHS is on track to meet its interim carbon footprint target by 2032. In their article, they referenced our green physician toolkit and how we are helping physicians to reduce NHS climate change emissions.
Hospital apologies for ‘unacceptable’ use of café to treat A&E patients
British Bulletin
It was reported that William Harvey Hospital in Ashford had to screen off its café recently to create emergency treatment space for A&E patients after facing ‘significant demand’ for emergency services. The coverage included an RCP survey from earlier in the year, which found that 78% of doctors have been forced to treat patients in unsuitable spaces.
🔔You might have missed…
📚‘Now is the time to accelerate’: RCP responds to NHS report on 5 years of greener healthcare
The RCP has responded to NHS England’s report on 5 years of greener healthcare, which found that the NHS in England has reduced its emissions by 14% since 2019. This welcomed progress, while stressing the continued need for urgent action to reduce emissions and build a climate-resilient health system, as the climate crisis is a health issue – and the NHS has a vital role to play in tackling it.
📙Senedd 2026 | The road to recovery: RCP manifesto launch
In her monthly blog, RCP vice president for Wales Dr Hilary Williams blogs about our manifesto launch, Jeremy Miles’ announcement on physician assistants and implementation of the Leng review recommendations in Wales, and Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe ’s Welsh Learner Speaker Support Scheme.
🏥RCP president visits Wrexham Maelor Hospital in north Wales to ‘listen, learn and advocate on behalf of members’
Earlier this week, the RCP visited Wrexham Maelor Hospital to meet with resident doctors, SAS and locally employed doctors, and consultant colleagues. The visit formed part of the RCP’s ongoing programme of regional engagement, listening to members and fellows across the UK and supporting them to deliver high-quality patient care.
🩺Acting up with confidence: how we’re preparing IMT doctors for the registrar role
In the latest RCP next generation campaign blog, the winner of our 2025 ACT abstract competition, Dr Dominic Mears, shares how he and colleagues Dr Ming-May Chung and Dr Emily Robinson introduced an Acting Up scheme at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust . This was focused on giving doctors training in internal medicine real-world experience of the registrar role.
👩⚕️My journey as a Ukrainian healthcare professional: a story of resilience and hope
Dr Inna Soldatenko , a consultant rheumatologist, shares her experience of navigating the challenges posed by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
🏙️The RCP has welcomed the government’s announcement of an expanded programme to install solar panels across more NHS sites in England
Dr Mark Harber, RCP special adviser on healthcare sustainability and climate change, said:
‘This programme demonstrates how investment in clean energy can deliver financial benefits – reducing energy bills – while also contributing to the long-term health of the population by cutting emissions.’
🏅RCP announces Turner-Warwick lecturer award winners for 2025
The RCP has announced the winners of the 2025 Turner-Warwick lecturer awards, which celebrate resident doctors’ excellence in clinical research, medical education and quality improvement.
🌐Stakeholder updates
One year on: is the government on track to meet its waiting times pledge?
Analysis by The Health Foundation finds that if referrals and removals continue growing at the same pace, the government would make significant progress in reducing waiting times, but would narrowly miss its pledge for 92% of waits to be within 18 weeks by the end of the parliament.
Online GP appointment requests available everywhere from today
The government has announced that patients will be able to request appointments online throughout the day rather than calling their surgery or visiting in person.
Analysis reveals unfair ‘luck of the draw’ in access to NHS-funded care packages
The Nuffield Trust has found that NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), a package of free health and social care provided outside hospital which the NHS pays for, is not reaching many patients in England. They say this is due to varied eligibility rates and less being spent per person on care in deprived areas and the north of England.
👆Keep up to date
📰Read our latest news.
📚Read our latest policy documents.
✉️Comments or queries: policy@rcp.ac.uk
📱Join the conversation on the RCP WhatsApp: view the new channel in the updates tab and click follow.
Consultant in Palliative Medicine
3w"three-quarters of new consultants chose to remain in the trust or health board where they trained, demonstrating the need for employers to provide a high-quality training experience" This still predisposes to hospitals with training posts. We're not going to get a significant expansion soon, so how do we encourage doctors to work in areas with fewer - or absent - training posts?
--for the team
3wGreat