Junior doctors to shadow their roles as part of new training scheme

Junior doctors receiving training under the NHS are to shadow their new roles for a minimum of four days in an effort to raise standards of care.

Newly unveiled government plans will see trainee doctors undertaking supervised work, while also benefiting from talks and lectures, in order to improve their confidence going into the job.

This paid shadowing scheme will start this year and take place annually in July going forward, thus reducing new doctors' stress as they take up their roles, while also improving safety for patients.

Research from Dr Foster Intelligence in 2009 showed that emergency patients admitted on the first Wednesday in August – when new staff have just commenced their jobs – have a six percent higher mortality rate than those admitted the week before.

NHS medical director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh said: "This shadowing period could potentially save lives and will equip new junior doctors with the local knowledge and skills needed to provide safe, high-quality patient care, from their first day as a doctor."

Last month, the government unveiled plans to improve care quality further by making data on patient experiences of different GP surgeries more widely and easily accessible.