THERE are probably few careers with a greater need for adaptability than that of doctor. Whether it’s in a hospital, where they are sometimes required to be here, there and everywhere, or in a GP’s surgery, where any given day will throw up myriad conditions, doctors must adjust to different situations and circumstances constantly.

It is a part of their training, and something they accept and are willing to accommodate. But a problem arises when junior doctors in training for specialisms are constantly called upon to plug hospital rota gaps caused by winter pressures in other departments. There will be many occasions when this can’t be helped, but the perception that an over-reliance on this is being planned into the system is discomfiting.

Young doctors soon learn that administrators, juggling a shortage of resources and a surfeit of demand, will reward going the extra mile with an extra 10 miles. It’s part of the good doctor’s ethos to do anything to help patients, and working in other departments is a valuable part of their training. But it should not be to the exclusion of the specialism they will be expected to perform throughout their careers.

Apart from worries over the level of experience and expertise that trainees can bring to work outside their specialities, the situation can lead to delays in their training, causing that to be extended, which could exacerbate consultant shortages in future – and there are enough of these in a number of specialities as it is.

That said, the Scottish Government points out that, overall, the number of consultants is at a record high, which is encouraging and to be encouraged more. As for the situation with trainee specialists, the ideal would be to have no rota gaps needing filled, which we realise is easier said than done. But an over-reliance on junior doctors, while expedient in the short term, could prove problematic in the long run.