Member

This also poses real concerns about the whole medical training programme in this country. We clearly have to align undergraduate medical training places with specialty training. The noble Lord, Lord Patel, referred to the current dispute with resident doctors, and I agree with him in relation to the issue of pay. Anyone who has met a newly trained doctor in the UK at the moment will know that they are not treated right or given the right leadership. More experienced doctors talk about the old firm system, the impact of the working time directive on training, how partnerships can be broken up because doctors are sent to different parts of their deanery when they are in a relationship and how difficult that is for them—particularly if they have children. We all hear about the lack of support for those doctors within NHS trusts and the lack of sympathy from employers for some of the pressures they are under.