Junior doctors left without training job

London: Up to 1,000 junior doctors in London will be left without a training job because of the government's chaotic recruitment system.

The cost of the fiasco, which has left more than 33,000 trainees chasing 20,000 posts nationwide, will run into millions.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson faced a demonstration by junior doctors on the first morning in his new job yesterday.

Meanwhile, Dr Anne Rainsberry, head of organisation at NHS London, said that problems with a new computerised recruitment system to select young doctors for specialist training means that between 600 and 1,000 in London will probably be left jobless.

They will miss out on the chance to become a hospital consultant, despite undergoing years of training at a cost of £250,000 (Dh1.8 million) each. Dr Rainsberry said concerted efforts were being made to fix the system, which has been criticised for failing to recognise applicants' CVs, experience or location when matching them with jobs.