| NHS scraps 'shambolic' recruitment site: Contractor UK |
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A new Web-based recruitment system to fast-track junior doctors into the Health Service has been scrapped after it caused misery for the very people it was designed to help.
It will now be relegated to the role of monitoring the job filing process, rather than matching candidates to training posts, the Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced on Tuesday. In a statement to the Commons, for which the minister was absent, Ms Hewitt said the move responds to the concerns of junior doctors, who have denounced the system from the outset. Candidates have reported difficulty in uploading CVs, frequent site crashes, unfair selection, and general technical problems, which culminated in an alleged leak of their personal details. Junior doctors who used the system but failed to make round one of the process will now return to the traditional method of applying for jobs by submitting their CVs. Although some groups want applicant interviews that have already take place written off, the NHS says training posts will be offered to those who completed round one, in time for August 1. Dr Andrew Rowland, vice chairman of the British Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Committee, reiterated that the system – Medical Training Application Service – had been “shambolic.” “The Department of Health has at last seen sense and effectively abandoned the unfair, discredited…MTAS system. “Junior doctors have suffered blow after blow because of the government’s terrible handling of these reforms. ”They have had to go through months of anxiety about their NHS careers, and on top of that, have potentially had their personal details exposed on the MTAS website.” He added his ‘extreme concern’ that the Health Secretary believes criminal offences may have been committed as a result of the security breaches. Yesterday, E-health insider reported that the information commissioner, Richard Thomas, will launch an immediate probe to discover how applicant’s personal details ended up in the public domain. |
