The British Medical Association has begun legal action over exam errors at the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has said that it is taking legal action against those in charge of the disastrous exam at the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians in which a number of doctors were given incorrect results in September last year.
As Healthcare Today reported 222 doctors were told they had passed an exam – Part 2 Written Examination (MRCPUK Part 2) – they had in fact failed, and a further 61 were told they had failed when they had passed.
The exam is one of three parts and must be taken by experienced and qualified doctors who want to progress further in their training in a medical specialism such as cardiology, respiratory or intensive care medicine.
The Royal Colleges of Physicians admitted the mistake in a statement and put it down to a data processing error.
“On behalf of the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK, we deeply and unreservedly apologise for this situation. We appreciate how distressing the candidates affected will find this, and for some, it will create an additional burden to the hard and vital work they do,” wrote Mike Jones, executive medical director of the Royal Colleges of Physicians.
Applications withdrawn
The BMA highlighted the fact that the mistake by the Colleges’ exam body, and the time it took to discover it, means there will be doctors, who having been told they had passed, have progressed in their careers but now face uncertainties about their future because of this error.
“Failing an exam is devastating and has consequences for doctors as they work their way up the ladder of expertise; being told you have failed when in fact you have passed, is even worse… The moral, legal and governance aspects of this truly terrible mistake are far-reaching and must not be under-estimated by the public, government, and the NHS,” said BMA chair of council Philip Banfield.
Aside from potentially lost earnings, doctors who were told they had passed when they had failed have had their applications unilaterally withdrawn, without their consent, from the current round of higher specialty training recruitment – even though their capabilities have been assessed formally in the intervening 18 months and pose no risk to patient safety. These doctors now face delays in their training and, in an environment where jobs are in short supply, are worried about possible unemployment.
Potential judicial review
The BMA has now said that if this isn’t reversed immediately, it intends to issue an application for judicial review.
“What began as a catastrophic exam error has fast become a scandal. That such experienced doctors are being forced to put their careers on hold because of a 2023 written exam error is ridiculous, given that they have passed the more onerous clinical examination and been assessed as working safely and competently since,” said Banfield.
“These doctors have made significant contributions to the NHS and will have spent months getting ready to send in their applications for higher speciality training to develop their careers. To now have had their applications erased unilaterally, just weeks before the deadline, is utterly devastating and makes no sense,” he continued.
The deadline for applications for higher specialty training closes on 15 April and the BMA says that interviews are already taking place. It has urged applications to be reinstated.
