Increased NHS outsourcing to the private sector must be balanced with the needs of trainees

Dear Editor,

'Outsourcing' for varying purposes is not a new norm anymore. However, the purpose and circumstances do demand discretion in relation to short term benefits/improvements as well as long term effects. Inserting a time/period specific clause for the purpose of monitoring and continuation is critical to judging performance of the party/agency allotted the contract.

The training component in clinical areas has different dimensions. Workload and volume may be the priority in the formative years where compensation was once considered secondary; wth awareness of the financial realities of the times and the sentiments prevailing, that receives equal or priority consideration. With increasing automation and incorporation of AI, judging the human component of cognition, acquiring and applying skills in real time practice may not be easy. Yet levels of confidence and clinical decision making tends to be linked to the magnitude of 'clinical load, its diversity, and period of intense training.' Either way the clinical trainees may have a choice, but that needs to be wisely exercised.

Prof Murar E Yeolekar, Mumbai (Fmr Dean)

Dr Aditya Yeolekar, Associate Professor of Otorhinolaryngology, YCM Post Graduate Institute, Pune, India.