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Doctors: Recruitment

Asked by Mr Andrew SnowdenConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 2 July 2026UIN 13606

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance to NHS employers on providing meaningful feedback to unsuccessful applicants for medical posts.

Answered by Karin Smyth

All candidates applying for posts as part of national medical recruitment undertaken by NHS England are provided feedback at each stage of the process where they are unsuccessful. Information about the application process is set out on the UK Foundation Programme and medical specialty recruitment websites, at the following two links:

https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/programmes/2-year-foundation-programme/ukfp/application-process/application-process-overview/

https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/overview-of-specialty-training/offers-feedback-and-upgrades

It is the responsibility of individual National Health Service employers to provide feedback to candidates who are unsuccessful in being offered a particular medical post. NHS England has published a Recruitment Policy Framework which local NHS employers can adapt for their local context:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/recruitment-policy-framework/

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