Myths of MTAS and MMC

Abstract

As we move ever closer to the start of August, there remains no sign that the MTAS (Medical Training Application Service) debacle will end. In the months since this sorry episode began, doctors have been united in a way never seen before,1 and the common goals of those professionals who have invested so much of themselves in the NHS are becoming clearer: a fair, validated and transparent application process for all doctors; an expansion of training numbers combined with rational workforce planning; the preservation of those aspects of training which have made British medicine so respected; and, above all, the best possible care for the people who seek help from their doctor. Despite the apologies and the high-level resignations,2-4 the government persists in its efforts to keep the sinking MTAS ship afloat. The Department of Health, its attention focused as ever upon public perception, continues to fight its corner through spin and sound-bite. This makes it important that doctors communicate with the public in a manner that cuts through government rhetoric, to explain how part of the huge financial investment in the NHS is being squandered. In particular, the myth that MTAS is merely a hiccup in an otherwise well thought-out, sensible program of reform—MMC (Modernising Medical Careers)—cannot go unchallenged. With this in mind, we present some of the more prominent myths that continue to abound regarding MTAS and MMC.