Trusts block junior doctors checking job e-mails

Junior doctors are unable to find out if they have been offered jobs because their trusts block access to popular e-mail providers, the BMA has claimed.

Following complaints from members last week, the BMA alerted the Department of Health to the fact that many NHS trusts block external e-mails, preventing junior doctors from being notified of job offers.

The DH says it will write to trusts in England to ask them to make external e-mail and internet browsing available to junior doctors.

The BMA says unless action is taken junior doctors unable to access e-mail job offers will be under the same recruitment pressures in 2008, as they were in 2007, following the Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) failure.

Ram Moorthy, chairman of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, said: “This is outrageous. Doctors are being denied vital career opportunities. Junior doctors need to be able to check their e-mail regularly, especially when their careers depend on it. We hope trusts will show some understanding and remove blocks on access. The artificially short limits on advertising and accepting jobs are causing major concerns that the process this year will again be unfair.”

Last Monday, the BMA wrote to the Department of Health and the Modernising Medical Careers Programme Board, raising concerns that many junior doctors would not find out they had been offered jobs because their trusts block access to popular e-mail providers.

The Department of Health agreed to write to NHS trusts, but many doctors have reported to the BMA that their trusts are still blocking access.

However, the DH says action is being taken. A spokesperson told EHI: “We are about to write to NHS trusts in England to ask them to make external e-mail and internet browsing available to junior doctors where possible.

“Some NHS trusts control web access for understandable security reasons. But given the high levels of competition that will exist for junior doctor training posts this year, we and the NHS should be doing everything possible to support them in the application process.”

The BMA is also investigating reports that some doctors in the North of England are being refused application forms, even though posts are still open to applications.

They have written to the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Education Deaneries raising the issue. Moorthy said: “It’s utterly bizarre to be told you can’t have an application form for a job before the deadline has passed. We’re concerned that this is a cynical attempt to reduce numbers of applications.”