The GMC had originally found inconsistencies in the quality of trainee supervision across different specialty departments within the hospital, with some trainees required to work beyond their level of competence.

As a consequence, in 2015, the hospital entered the enhanced monitoring process – a quality assurance measure which the GMC uses when training environments fail to meet the required standards for patient safety or trainee education. The process resulted in increased scrutiny, including more frequent data reviews and on-site visits to ensure improvements were made.

The GMC worked closely with NHS England South West during this period to jointly monitor the training environment in Weston General Hospital. Interventions to protect trainee wellbeing and patient safety have included imposing conditions on the Emergency Medicine, Urology and Care of the Elderly (COTE), departments and, in 2021, relocating Foundation Year 1 doctors to Bristol Royal Infirmary.

The GMC has now decided to lift the remaining enhanced monitoring of the medicine programmes after Weston General Hospital demonstrated significant improvements in the quality of education and training of trainees. These were evidenced through monitoring visits, NHS England South West quality panels and scrutiny of the GMC's National training survey, which tracks the experiences of doctors in training across the UK.

Professor Pushpinder Mangat, medical director and director for education and standards at the GMC, said: ‘We are very pleased that the concerns relating to the medicine departments at Weston General Hospital have been addressed so effectively, and that the standards for training that are required to prepare doctors for safe, high-quality patient care are now being met.

‘We have seen clear evidence of significant improvement, including an increase in consultant numbers in the medicine departments, a more proactive approach to identifying concerns, and stronger mechanisms for gathering feedback from doctors in training.

‘We will continue working closely with NHS Education South West, to maintain ongoing oversight of the hospital, to make sure high standards are consistently upheld for both patients and doctors in training.'