Laura

You’ve waited months for your operation. You’ve waited hours in A&E. And yet; thousands of doctors who want to become surgeons and emergency medics are being turned away. In 2025, Emergency Medicine had 5,081 applicants for only 357 posts; around 14 applicants for one post. 5,399 doctors applied for just 630 Core Surgical Training posts; a ratio of 8.57 to 1. These are doctors who’ve completed years of study and clinical training, passed rigorous exams, and are ready to serve patients. But the Government refuses to fund enough speciality training places for them. So while patients lie on trolleys in corridors and operations are cancelled, fully trained doctors are left without a pathway to specialise. This is a catastrophic failure of workforce planning. A deliberate Government imposed cap on doctor speciality training numbers that wastes talent, demoralises staff, and prolongs NHS waiting times. If the Government is serious about tackling long waiting lists and rebuilding the NHS, it must expand funded training posts and use the workforce we already have.