The annual National Training Survey of junior doctors, commissioned by the General Medical Council (GMC), has seen Noble’s Hospital ranked amongst the top 25% of hospitals in Britain for a key component of doctors’ medical education – Core Medical Training (CMT).

CMT follows the two year Foundation Programme that junior doctors commence after graduating from medical school. It marks the beginning of a doctor’s progression to their chosen speciality of medicine whether as a GP or a consultant.

Minister for Health and Social Care, Howard Quayle MHK, said: “This is excellent news for the Isle of Man and our health service. I commend our Medical Education Team at Noble’s Hospital and the professionals across our health service who work so hard to support junior doctors in their training.

“These results means that in the field of CMT training Noble’s Hospital is among some of the largest and most prestigious hospitals in the UK.”

Every year through Health Education England, Noble’s Hospital offers six places to junior doctors for the first year of their CMT, after which they move to larger UK teaching hospitals for their second year.

The GMC’s survey is used to measure how well hospitals adhere to the quality criteria required for CMT. It measures four areas: the structure of the training programme; its delivery and flexibility; the supervision and support available to trainees, and the quality of communication with them.

Junior doctors, who are fully supervised during their training, are an integral part of delivering hospital care, as Director of Medical Education, Dr Adrian Dashfield, explained: “Doctors spend years in training. After five to six years at medical school it takes a further five years for a junior doctor to become a GP and eight to 10 years to become a consultant. That’s thousands of hours of study and training, all vital to ensure the safety of patients and high quality care.

“Initial undergraduate training takes place in an academic setting but, naturally, following graduation junior doctors need to be involved in the treatment and care of patients for much of their practical learning. They have a very important role to play, forming part of the team that delivers healthcare services.

“We continually strive to improve the quality of our training and have been able to invest in this with our new Medical Education and Clinical Skills Centre which opened last year. The positive survey result is very good news for the Island. The reputation of Noble’s Hospital is enhanced and, as a result, competition for our six annual CMT training places is likely to be more intense, meaning we can attract high quality junior doctors and provide the best possible patient care.”