SAS and locally employed doctors deserve more support and respect

The medical workforce contains many doctors who are not consultants and who are not part of a recognised training programme. Specialist, associate specialist, and specialty doctors (SAS) and locally employed doctors (LED) are the fastest growing sections of the workforce and make up 24% of all licensed doctors.1 They play a vital role in delivering NHS services.SAS doctors are employed on a nationally negotiated contract. The current national SAS contracts are the less senior “specialty doctor” and the senior, experienced, and independent “specialist.” Additionally, there are doctors employed on trust-derived contracts called “locally employed doctors” (LED) who can have multiple titles including “clinical fellow,” “trust grade,” and “trust doctor.” Medical training initiative doctors (MTI) are also commonly employed as LEDs and therefore form part of the group.These doctors deserve, but often do not receive, parity with other doctors in educational and career support and in opportunities.2 They are a potentially…
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