Classification: official

To:

• NHS trust chief executives

cc:

• regional directors
• regional chairs
• NHS trust:
  • medical directors
  • directors of medical education

Dear colleagues

Expressions of interest for new postgraduate training posts

As you will be aware, resident doctors have voted to accept the Government’s offer on improving pay and job conditions. We now need to work together to ensure rapid and consistent delivery of all elements of the offer in general and the expansion of post graduate training places in particular. Given the importance of this deal, and the opportunity we now have for no further industrial action, I am asking you to make this a personal priority.

I wrote to you on 23 June regarding the expansion of postgraduate training places, asking you to identify the posts that can start in February and August 2027, and the relevant funding arrangements. We now need you to take the following actions.

To recruit to the 250 new training posts created for February 2027 starts, we will have to use the reserve list for recruitment for most of the specialties. Your Deanery and Regional Director can advise you of the options available. We will need expressions of interest regarding the posts as soon as possible so we can agree them by 30 July and make offers to applicants from the first week of August.

A further 750 posts will need to have been identified in time for applicants to apply in October for August 2027 starts. We have carried out some national analysis of where expansion might be required, but this needs to be triangulated with local service needs as well as current spend on locum and agency, and trainee experience. Your Deanery and Regional Director will use this data as a starting point for a conversation with you. We will need initial expressions of interest by 30 July and final plans by 30 September.

The distribution of these posts will be agreed by the newly formed Training and Distribution Group, which will include regional colleagues as well as representation from the British Medical Association (BMA) Resident Doctors Committee. They will be available to applicants in the autumn 2026 recruitment round. This expansion is in addition to the 250 GP posts per year that was committed to in the 10 Year Health Plan, that all require additional hospital posts to create rotations, making this year’s total expansion 1,250.

The 1,000 additional training places this year, and up to 1,750 in each of the following 2 years, are a key part of the deal the Government has agreed with the BMA. I and my Regional Director colleagues will be in regular contact with you over the next few weeks to ensure we are on track to deliver, and I thank you in advance for all the work you and your teams will put in to getting this over the line.

Yours sincerely

Sir Glen Burley, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS England

Publication reference: PRN02581