UK Shape of Training steering group: report

1. Introduction

1.1 The Shape of Medical Training Review ( SoTR) led by Professor Sir David Greenaway was established to consider how medical training could better meet the needs of patients over the next 30 years.

1.2 Doctors are trained primarily for the purpose of providing care to patients. The review was necessary because the current and anticipated future needs of patients across the UK are changing rapidly (Department of Health, 2014). The increase in patients with multiple co ‑morbidities and a requirement for more care to be delivered in the community necessitates a different approach to medical training and variations to the type and the skill mix of doctors it produces.

1.3 The SoTR group was convened to consider how medical training could better meet the current and future needs of patients. It was given clear terms of reference by the Sponsoring Board with a requirement to focus on post-graduate medical education and training across the UK and to include the learning from previous reviews; in particular to consider the conclusions of Sir John Tooke's report entitled "Aspiring to Excellence" (Tooke, 2008). This called for a more flexible approach to training and the better integration of training and service planning. The terms of reference also required that the following aspects be covered: patient needs, workforce needs, service needs, flexibility of training and the breadth and scope of training.

1.4 The review group published their findings in October 2013 and made 19 recommendations (Greenaway D., 2013) See annex 1.