Trainees' views on consultants being resident on call and the advent of a two-tier consultant grade

Abstract

Unsupportable pressures have come to bear on traditional models of consultant service provision. Two changes have been widely discussed which are particularly relevant to the labour ward: (1) consultants being resident while on call; and (2) the advent of a two-tier consultant grade. We asked the trainees for their opinion. A trainee was defined as a junior doctor who possessed the MRCOG part I or above. The Survey of Training (2002) questionnaires were sent to all College Tutors to be distributed to 1857 eligible trainees. As part of the survey trainees were asked: ‘In the future will consultant posts have resident on call commitments?; ‘Should consultant posts have resident on call commitments?; ‘Will there be two tiers of consultant posts?’; and ‘Should there be two tiers of consultant posts?’ The total number of respondents was 930 (50.1%); 715 (76.9%) of trainees thought consultants will be resident on call whereas only 364 (39%) thought they should be. Five hundred and thirty (57%) trainees thought there will be a two-tier consultant grade in the future, whereas only 290 (31%) thought there should be.