Publish date: 9 October 2023
SAS Week 2023 - celebrating our specialty and specialist doctor workforce
From 9 to 13 October, we are marking
SAS doctors is a term for specialty and specialist grade doctors with at least four years of postgraduate training, two of which are in a relevant specialty.
The GMC’s most recent annual report showed that SAS and locally employed doctors are the fastest growing group of doctors in the UK and that, by 2030, they could be the largest group in the medical workforce overall.
SAS doctors and dentists are a much valued part of the NHS workforce, and it’s a fulfilling and rewarding career choice for those involved.
We have dozens of SAS doctors at Northumbria working across 14 specialties, so we thank them for the part they play in Team Northumbria.
They contribute to a varied and diverse workforce, so we are recognising their contribution this week.
Below are the thoughts of some of our leaders about the role they play, and we will be sharing blogs from 4 SAS doctors at the trust across the rest of this week.
Executive medical director, Dr Jeremy Rushmer: "I'd like you to join in celebrating with me the contribution of our SAS doctors and dentists. We're very lucky in having a growing number of these experts who now work across a wide variety of specialties and locations delivering care to patients.
"They are a diverse group of clinicians who have developed their expertise is a wide variety of programmes both in the NHS and internationally.
"This week we're holding a number of events this week to recognise the contribution this group makes to our service and the opportunity they represent to develop our workforce so we can implement our clinical strategy to the best effect."
Dr Andrea Myers, director of medical education: "Our SAS doctors are a diverse and hugely valuable membership of our undergraduate and postgraduate medical education team within Northumbria. Their varied skillset is an asset to our medical education team and I hope that other colleagues will see education as an opportunity for future career development."
Dr J Dawson, consultant anaesthetist and clinical director for anaesthesia: "In a big department like anaesthetics, it’s crucial to have a varied and diverse workforce, and the SAS doctors make up a vital component of ours. We currently have 12 doctors. They each have different backgrounds and experience, and all bring something unique to our department.
"They are a core part of our staff and service delivery, and are also involved in departmental activities such as teaching, governance, and management. We recognise the importance of this role and will continue to recruit and invest in SAS doctors."
