Written question asked by Theresa Villiers (Conservative) on Monday, 30 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 November 2006. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 November 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Medical Careers

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to implement Modernising Medical Careers.

Answer: Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a major initiative aimed to improve both patient care and doctors’ training. For this reason it is subject to significant governance processes involving both the Department and the national health service.The first stage of MMC, the foundation programme, was successfully introduced in August 2005. The second phase, new specialty training programmes, will be introduced in August 2007. Recruitment will begin in January 2007.There is currently much work under way to manage the transition to the new system for specialty training including ensuring fair and effective arrangements for trainees already in the system and the development of new and improved recruitment and selection procedures.

Secondary information