All trainees found a job

THE last group of jobless trainee doctors have now been found a post, the UKFPO has announced.

The final 65 applicants on the reserve list will begin their foundation programmes in August 2011. They had been waiting to find a post since the foundation programme became oversubscribed in November 2010. A contingency plan was launched and 180 applicants were placed on a reserve list, but they all now have jobs.

A further 14 F1 vacancies that arose in June have been filled by applicants who require immigration visas to work in the UK. The next allocations for applicants requiring visas will take place on July 4 and July 22, depending on when and how many vacancies arise, the UKFPO confirmed.

Professor Derek Gallen, National Director of the UKFPO, said: “I am extremely pleased that the remaining reserve list applicants have been placed so early on in the allocation process. We had hoped to place everyone by early July but it is excellent news that we've been able to do so much earlier. This is especially good news for these applicants, as they will now know where they’ll be working much sooner than originally thought.”

Postgraduate deaneries and foundation schools will now make decisions locally regarding how to fill any vacancies that arise between now and August.

The news has been welcomed by student leaders at the BMA. Medical students committee chair Karin Purshouse said it was excellent news, adding: “It is important that we support these students in preparing for their start to work following what has been a stressful few months.”