Specialty training application deadline is extended after Oriel recruitment portal collapses
BMJ 2020; 368 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m694 (Published 20 February 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;368:m694
The deadline for higher specialty training applications has been extended after the application website went down just as submissions were due.
Health Education England (HEE) said that the round 2 application deadline had been extended to 10 am on Monday 24 February in response to the Oriel website being down overnight on 18 February.
Applications for round 2 recruitment—which covers specialty training year 3 (ST3) posts, as well as some medical academic fellowship posts and core training year 1 (CT1) posts—was due to close on 19 February. HEE said that the issue was due to a problem with the system’s hosting provider.
Recurring issue
Lucie Cocker, deputy chair of the BMA’s Junior Doctors Committee, said that by working with HEE the BMA had very quickly been able to secure an extension to the application deadline. The Oriel website was down overnight on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning an extension until the 24 February had been agreed.
Cocker said that the length of the extension reflected the fact that many trainees might not have time in their schedules to submit their applications over the next few days.
She said, “Trainees don’t have the easiest of schedules, and most people will have squeezed some time in to do their application and may be now going to sleep post-night shift or about to start a busy on-call.
“To make sure there was no detriment to anyone regardless of their shift pattern, an extension until after the weekend was agreed so that everybody has an opportunity not just to click send but to read through their application, make sure they’re happy with it, and submit it in time.”
Cocker added that faults with the Oriel website were a recurring issue and one that the BMA had repeatedly raised with HEE. As a result, she said, HEE had developed a new system—Oriel 2—due to be launched in June 2020, in time for the next round of training applications.
“We have pushed heavily for this recurring issue to be fixed, and that’s what we expect as a minimum from this new system,” said Cocker. “This is such a recurring issue, it’s almost as predictable as the winter pressures in the NHS.”
Sheona MacLeod, deputy medical director for education reform at HEE, apologised for the issue with Oriel affecting trainees.
An HEE spokesperson added, “HEE has listened to feedback from trainees and stakeholders, and from June 2020 Oriel 2 is being launched, which has been procured and will offer improved functionality and provide a better experience for applicants.”
Anyone struggling to complete an application during the extended window can email mdrs.nationalrecruitment{at}hee.nhs.uk, HEE said.