- 1/ The medical workforce and the #SASsix, a Saturday morning thread... The eagle-eyed among you may have spotted two related publications relating to workforce this week. Taken together, they paint a stark picture of the current medical workforce.
- 2/ The new General Medical Council workforce report once again illustrates that the most rapidly rising cohort in the medical workforce are locally-employed doctors. This year is also looks at their contract duration, and finds that the majority in this group are on short-term contracts.
- 3/ It also demonstrates that we don't retain these doctors in the workforce. Read more here: www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-w...
- 4/ Meanwhile, an expose in the BMJ brought the experiences of these locally-employed doctors, in short-term, non-standard "gig economy" contracts, into sharp focus. You can read that one here: www.bmj.com/content/391/...
- 5/ Many of the stories in this article are harrowing, and describe international medical graduates and early career UK graduates being exploited with inappropriate contracts, no prospects for career development, and little hope to be had. www.rcp.ac.uk/news-and-med...
Nov 22, 2025 08:22
- 6/ As @rcphysicians.bsky.social reiterate in their rapid response (above), we must get better at supporting the careers of doctors outside of formal training programmes, or we won't keep them or see them reach their potential. There should be no such thing as a "non-training" doctor.
- 7/ Today's service must not come at the cost of tomorrow's. We believe this is the single biggest workforce issue of the day. The #SASsix campaign is based around appropriate contract use, support for professional development, and the opportunity for senior doctors to become leaders and educators.
- 8/ Alternative career pathways need parity of esteem, and we believe this is how it should be done. Find out more about our work and our #SASsix campaign here: www.sascollective.com
- 9/ Probably should have tagged some of these folks in the thread. @bmj.com @gmcuk.bsky.social @redrunswick.bsky.social @emmajourno.bsky.social @parthaskar.bsky.social