Government blamed for junior-doctor crisis

The Government has come under fire following last year's fiasco surrounding UK medical student applications to NHS training posts.

A report by the House of Common's Health Committee has pinned the majority of blame on the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Sir Liam Donaldson.

Sir Donaldson did not show leadership when the recruitment process began to fail and was also the designer of the failed application form, the body said.

According to The Guardian, the report stated: 'The shortlisting process was little more than a creative writing exercise for candidates.

'The confidence of the medical profession in the current CMO has been seriously damaged.'

Competition for NHS training posts last year was intense as an increasing number of homegrown medical students applied for positions alongside foreign graduates and doctors.

Due to the large number of failed applications, the Government has since declared that only UK medical graduates will be able to apply to NHS training positions.