Guidance for filling F1 vacancies
Published: 10/02/2011
Over 90% of applicants to the Foundation Programme 2011 on the primary list were allocated to their first choice foundation school. As the Foundation Programme 2011 was oversubscribed, there are still 180 fully eligible applicants on the reserve list who will be allocated to vacancies that arise as a result of applicants withdrawing from the programme or failing their final exams. There are five planned allocations for reserve list applicants and the first batch allocation will take place on 31 March 2011. For more information on this process, go to http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/pages/home/how-to-apply/contingencyplan.
Employing healthcare organisations should ensure that their local deanery/foundation school is immediately aware of any F1 vacancies which arise in order that these vacancies can be used by the UKFPO in the allocation of reserve list applicants.
The UKFPO is predicting that some Foundation Programme vacancies will arise after all reserve list applicants have been placed and prior to the start of the programme in August 2011. The four UK health departments, postgraduate deans and NHS Employers have agreed that flexibility to decide how they want to go about filling any vacancies that arise in their locality is necessary. It is important that the postgraduate deanery and local healthcare organisations enter into discussions to determine how these vacancies are filled, rather than making independent decisions about filling the posts. Employers must operate within the framework of the approved options following discussions with the deanery.
The options available are as follows:
- Eligible applicants who need work permits are centrally allocated through FPAS.
- Vacancies are converted to LAS posts, and deaneries/employers appoint doctors who have achieved full GMC registration.
- Vacancies are left unfilled.
If vacancies are converted to LAS posts, it must be made clear to those applying that these are not approved training posts, and will not provide foundation doctors with the learning opportunities to gain the necessary competences for satisfactory completion of F1 or the Foundation Programme. Employers also need to be aware that if they recruit F1 doctors outside of the national system, they will need to obtain approval from the doctor’s medical school to ensure the doctor is signed off at the end of the year, as stated in the GMC’s publication, The New Doctor.
The UKFPO has published detailed guidance on their website on how each of the options must be implemented.
