Not only is MTAS a complete disaster, just wait until August 1st 2007 when ALL these new trainee specialists take up their new jobs at once. They wont be able to provide patients with a service because they will be going through mandatory induction and training programmes.

All I can suggest is don't be ill and need hospital treatment at the beginning of August 2007 because the hospitals will be in a state of chaos!

Philip Whitehurst, Wolverhampton, UK

My wife works in the local Hospital as an SHO. The teams are constantly understaffed and a day when she ends on time is a rare event. A few weekends back she worked from 9 AM - 11.30 / 12.00 on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then back to work for a full week Monday to Friday. You would make mistakes on a checkout doing those shifts - but this is with peoples lives!

With this background, the Health Secretary launch MMC. With no pilot and no support from the grass roots, they went ahead with a scheme that local Drs said was madness. Moral in the NHS was already at an all time low - now the attitude is what is the point. Australia has suddenly become a potential destination for many of our best Dr's.

The new specialists will be trained up in less time than consultants and will in effect replace the grade - they will be paid less and will be less experienced.

You could not have found a better way to destroy what morale was left among junior Dr's in the NHS.

Mike , Southampton, Hampshire

Not only have doctors been decieved about the fairness of the recruitment process but also about the number of jobs available. The numbers published by MTAS was actually 32000 doctors applying for 18500 jobs, of which some do not even allow progression to become a consultant. And who will suffer? It will not just be the doctors, it will be the patients.

Francesca Rannard, London, UK

I am pleased that Ms Hewitt has apologised, belatedly admitting the fiasco that is of her making in conjunction with cronies in the medical profession (and I have yet to hear apologies from the denizens of the Royal Colleges who went along with this mad scheme).
This episode tells us much about the way that politicians work. I repeatedly heard Patsy's Health Ministers telling us that the system was fine, when it was clear to all of us in the profession that this was not true. Their first response was reflex denial and lies. Would a resignation or two not be appropriate?
There is a danger that the focus now will be all about the process of selection, whereas most of my colleagues believe firmly that the whole premise of MMC is flawed.

Dr David Niblett, Bedford, England

Now Ms. Hewitt put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Alan Logue, Portrush, Northern Ireland

Patricia Hewitt has consistently hidden the real objective of MMC, which is to reduce doctors in training by 8000 by August. This is due to Gordon Brown's "streamlining" of hospitals, which means closing many of them. That is why they think we need fewer doctors. They are both guilty of deception. We must not vote for polititians who deceive us and certainly not for those who make life worse for us.

Alan Clarke, Liss, UK

One of my american doctor friends tells me the US is flooded with UK applicants unwilling to wait for promotion taking up residencies over there.

What a waste paying to train doctors over here and then leaving them no promotion path.

Gareth Webber, Swanley, Kent, UK

Whilst an apology is most welcome from the health secretary, the uncertainty goes on. Whilst we are promised an interview of our 1st choice specialty almost 2 weeks ago now, we are yet to be given any information about when we can submit our first choice or what time scale we can expect to be interviewed. I love my job, i love going to work each day and meeting the challenges that each day brings but this whole proceess is driven me to tears. It is heartbreaking....

Catherine Roughley, farnborough, hampshire