National training survey | cancer doctors | Leng review
Royal College of Physicians
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📝In brief
RCP responds to the GMC 2025 national training survey
In response to the GMC 2025 national training survey, RCP president Professor Mumtaz Patel said:
‘Rota gaps are severely affecting the quality of medical training and the fact that over a fifth of resident doctors felt hesitant about escalating patient care should be a clear warning for us all. It’s reassuring that so many rated their teaching and clinical supervision as high quality, and it is a testament to the hard work and determination of our consultants and specialist doctors.
However, with one in five doctors in training at high risk of burnout, half reporting that their work is emotionally exhausting to a high or very high degree, and a third saying their work frustrates them to a high or very high degree, clearly the system is not doing enough to support the next generation of NHS doctors.’
RCP responds to the Leng review
The RCP has responded to the publication of Professor Gillian Leng’s independent review into the roles of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs), welcoming a focus on national consistency and clarity of role.
Dr Hilary Williams , incoming RCP clinical vice president and chair of the RCP PA Oversight Group, said:
‘This is a thoughtful, detailed and thorough review of a very complex issue, and we want to thank Professor Leng and her team for their hard work and balanced approach. This report is very clear that reform is urgently needed to ensure safe multiprofessional teamworking in the NHS, and we welcome a strong focus on national consistency, patient safety, collaboration, and clarity of role and scope.’
The RCP has confirmed that it will adopt the nomenclature ‘physician assistant’ with immediate effect and wrote to key stakeholders informing them of that decision, following recommendations in the independent review.
Cancer doctors call for urgent investment to stop patient care ‘postcode lottery’
Leading medical royal colleges representing senior cancer doctors have called for urgent action to expand and integrate acute and supportive oncology services across the NHS to meet the evolving needs of people living with cancer.
In two statements, the RCP, the The Royal College of Radiologists , the United Kingdom Association of Supportive Care in Cancer , and the Association for Palliative Medicine warn that despite remarkable advances in cancer treatment and rising survival rates, services are struggling to keep pace with demand.
📢Media
Responding to new data linking longer waits and increased A&E visits
Sky News
Responding to new research from The Health Foundation that found that long NHS waits lead to more visits to A&E, even after treatment, the RCP’s incoming clinical vice president Hilary Williams told Sky News :
‘When patients are then waiting too long, their conditions can worsen and complications can occur, meaning people may end up needing emergency care even after their planned treatment. In other words, the issue with long waits isn’t just the delay itself but the lasting health impacts that those longest waits can cause.’
NHS must adapt to work better in heatwaves
The Guardian
In a letter to The Guardian , Dr Mark Harber, RCP special adviser on healthcare sustainability and climate change, says demand for healthcare will rise as a result of extreme temperatures, so investment in infrastructure and preparedness are no longer optional.
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🌐Stakeholder updates
Resident doctors say they will go ahead with strikes
The British Medical Association (BMA) has confirmed that the 5-day resident doctor strike due to start in England on Friday (25 July) will go ahead. Strikes will take place from 7am on Friday 25July – 7am on Wednesday 30 July.
NHSE response to the recommendations of the Leng review
NHSE published its response to the final report of the independent review of the physician associate and anaesthesia associate roles (Leng review).
NHS publishes waiting list breakdowns to tackle health inequalities
Hospitals will be able to address unfair elective waits for working class and minority patients as new data shows those from deprived communities are more likely to wait longer. Data published for the first time ever by the NHS show patients in the poorest communities and those from an Asian or Asian British background are more likely to be waiting longer than 18 weeks than any other group.
Air quality – is it fair?
Health Equals has launched a new campaign to raise public awareness about the link between the air we breathe and our health, and is calling on government to clean up our air as part of a cross-government health inequalities strategy.
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