College calls for action to support SAS doctors following GMC report

09 Jan 2020

A concerted effort by employers, regulators and others in the sector is required to support doctors in Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) and Locally Employed (LE) roles, following the publication of a new survey by the General Medical Council (GMC) today (Thursday 9^th January).

The medical regulator found that 30% of SAS doctors and 23% of their LE counterparts had been bullied, undermined or harassed at work in the last year, either by colleagues or by patients and their families. Full details of the GMC report can be found on their website.

Reacting to the findings, College President Professor Jackie Taylor called for a joined up approach to better support this group:

“These findings make grim reading for the medical profession and everyone concerned with providing the best possible care for patients. While this is the first survey of this particular group of doctors, the results are worryingly similar to the picture we’ve already built up of our profession as a whole.

“We now have a clear understanding of the bullying culture which still exists within parts of the NHS, while thanks to the Sturrock Report and others we have the solutions within our grasp. We now need a concerted effort by employers, regulators and others in the sector to act on this research and address this unacceptable behaviour within the health serve once and for all. That’s why our College is undertaking review into how we can be more inclusive and improve access to professional development for this group of doctors, so that we’re ready to play our part in standing up for all of our the profession.”

Categories: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing, Workforce