Rotation changes piloted to cut ‘absurd’ commutes and hospital moves

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By Erin Dean

Resident doctors are trialling changes to rotations to cut commutes and keep them in the same team for longer.

About 200 doctors in England will take part in pilots that will test different approaches, including reducing the geographical size of a rotation area, keeping clinicians in the same hospital trust when they move post and making rotations longer with fewer changes.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said the 19 projects could help end the “absurd” current system that can uproot doctors between different hospitals several times a year.

Resident doctors often receive very little notice of where they will be working next and the distance between hospitals can be vast, the union said.

In a Royal College of Physicians survey of doctors in training last year, 41% said geographical rotations had a negative impact on their training. Some 28% wanted them abolished entirely, and 50% said they should continue only with reform.