Medical intervention

The diagnosis was faulty and the remedy made things worse. Warnings that the build-up of symptoms was pointing to full-scale breakdown went unheeded. The setback has been serious and recovery will take some time. Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) was the prescription for improving the training system for doctors in the UK. For the past year we have had numerous examples of how MMC is failing junior doctors at the point in their careers where they move into specialist posts. As junior doctors took to the streets in unprecedented protest, backed in many cases by their consultants, Patricia Hewitt, then Health Secretary in Tony Blair's cabinet, set up an independent inquiry into the debacle.