ASiT State of Surgical Report

ASiT presents this report to highlight urgent reforms needed in surgical training across the UK and Ireland. Based on the findings of the Medical Training Review and extensive trainee feedback, we set out clear, actionable measures to expand capacity, ensure fairness, safeguard training time and opportunities, and modernise the training system for the future.

08/12/2025

Why We Created This Report

This report was born from ASiT’s extensive submission to the Medical Training Review (MTR) diagnostic phase, where the voices of surgical trainees and medical students made one message clear: surgical training needs meaningful, targeted reform.

Using the recommendations of the MTR Diagnostic Report as our framework, we outline actionable solutions designed to strengthen, modernise, and protect surgical training across the UK and Ireland.

ASiT’s Key Asks

To deliver a training system that is fair, sustainable, and fit for the future, ASiT calls for decisive action to:

Expand training capacity to end persistent bottlenecks
Fix national recruitment and restore transparency and fairness
Protect operative training time in all surgical environments
Stamp out discrimination and misconduct with real accountability
Make training financially fair by funding essential costs
Guarantee true flexibility with universal LTFT access
Modernise training through investment in educators and equitable access to academic, leadership, innovation, and global surgery pathways