JUNIOR doctors could face bills of hundreds of pounds every year as a result of allowances for essential training courses being capped, writes Alan MacDermid, Medical Correspondent.
The courses are seen as essential if they are to continue learning and keep up to date with advances in diagnosis and treatment.
Doctors in the West of Scotland are first to feel the pinch after receiving a letter from their postgraduate dean, Professor Norman MacKay, who told them that, because of budget pressures, restrictions on applications had been necessary. As a result, each doctor is being given an annual allocation for each year restricted to #450 for senior house officers (SHOs) and #750 for specialist registrars.
In the past, approval to cover the cost of each course was automatic if the course was accredited and approved by the doctor's postgraduate tutor and clinical director.
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