The post-CCT subconsultant grade: the case against

The concept of a subconsultant grade is not a new one and has existed within the NHS in various guises for a number of years (such as staff grades and senior registrars). In the main, changes in postgraduate education such as the Calman reforms and Modernising Medical Careers have aimed to reduce such roles as they are inevitably heavily weighted to service provision with limited prospects of career progression. However, the increasing discrepancy between the number of trainees completing their Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and the number of vacant consultant posts has pushed this contentious topic back to the fore.