Thousands of junior doctors have concerns over patient safety: GMC Of the 51,000 who responded, just under 8,000 said they felt forced to cope with problems beyond their competence or experience, and just over 2,500 said they had concerns over patient safety. The report warned: "It is too early to draw any firm conclusions from the patient safety concerns raised by trainees, but the fact that around five per cent did raise a concern of one kind or another does suggest that there may be some significant issues across the UK." It said the GMC, together with the training deaneries that organise training, "need to respond to every concern raised, alert the service where there does appear to be a substantial issue and learn any lessons." The survey also picked up problems with the handover of patients between medical teams before the nightshift and then again in the morning. Just over a fifth (21.4 per cent) said the handover arrangements were informal and 1.8 per cent said there were none at all. Overall satisfaction with training rose slightly, from 78.8 out of a possible 100 points to 80.4. It was highest among trainee GPs (87.8) and lowest among trainee surgeons (76.2). Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: "These findings tell us that while overall satisfaction with their training is increasing, these doctors have a number of concerns. The issues they raise must be urgently addressed. We need to study the results in more detail but the early signs are that we are continuing to see pressure on doctors in key specialties, and this cannot be good for them or their patients. Patients are particularly exposed to the inexperience of junior doctors in August, when they start their new roles. Hospital mortality rates rise about six per cent on the first Wednesday of the month, when they begin, and the following weeks are darkly referred to as the "killing season" among staff. This year, however, juniors will shadow their seniors for at least four days beforehand to make the late summer safer. The GMC survey comes a week after a study by the British Medical Association found one in five junior doctors in their first year of speciality training had been asked to carry out operations and procedures beyond their capabilities. A Department of Health spokesman said: "This survey shows that overall, most doctors have a positive experience of their training. However, we are not complacent - we have already asked Medical Education England to look at where training can be strengthened as part of the 'Better Training, Better Care' programme.