Large numbers of medical trainees uncomfortable raising concerns with senior colleagues

More than a quarter of medical trainees in some specialties reported feeling apprehensive or hesitant about escalating a patient to the supervising clinician, a “deeply troubling” finding that the General Medical Council says could put patient safety at risk.

This year’s GMC national training survey was completed by around 50 637 doctors in training and 21 289 trainers. For the first time the survey asked about escalation of care.

Among doctors in training, 21% reported feeling uncomfortable raising concerns with their senior colleagues. The figure was even higher among trainees in certain specialties—with 26% of trainees in emergency medicine, 27% in obstetrics and gynaecology, and 29% in surgery.

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Source: BMJ, 15 July 2025