Responding to the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) 2020 national training survey report, the director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, Miriam Deakin, said:

“This report highlights the worrying impact that COVID-19 has had on medical training.

“We support the GMC’s plan to explore with health service leaders how to embed a flexible training approach that’s more responsive to future demands and events.

“Our report published today Workforce flexibility in the NHS: Utilising COVID-19 innovations, urges health education institutions to extend trainee training placements to a wider range of settings and recommends retaining clinical placements for final year students.

“It is encouraging to see that a very large majority of trainees and trainers felt that their workplace encouraged a culture of teamwork between all healthcare professionals, and provided a supportive environment for everyone regardless of background, beliefs or identity.”