Criterion 3: Health Condition or Disability

Non-urgent advice: Important information about UKFP 2027 guidance

Please note that the updated 2027 Pre-allocation guidance and application forms will be available soon. In the meantime, you may wish to refer to the UKFP 2027 Key Changes webpage which summarises the changes to the UKFP 2027 application process.

You have a health condition (physical or mental health) or disability for which specialist healthcare treatment and ongoing follow up for the condition in the specified location is an absolute requirement.

You must already have an address (and provide proof of address) within the foundation school area that you are requesting to be pre-allocated to, and be already receiving treatment for a health condition/disability in that same foundation school at the point of application.

This criterion is in place to ensure that applicants who have already started to receive specialist treatment for an ongoing health condition or disability can be pre-allocated to that area to ensure that they can continue with the treatment.

The circumstances for your pre-allocation application must be current at the time of application but they must also be expected to still be in place when the foundation training programme begins and to continue during your foundation training. If your circumstances are temporary, you may not require pre-allocation to a foundation school.

Most health conditions or disabilities can be managed and treated at any location in the UK, and the expectation is that the majority of applicants will be able to access the support and treatment they need in the location they are allocated to for their Foundation Programme and transfer their treatment to a new location if this is possible. Not all health conditions will require specialist treatment which is limited to certain parts of the UK. This includes any treatment/medication which is provided by a GP. The expectation is that any current treatment and medication that is already being provided by a GP is transferred to a new location.

Non-urgent advice: Important Change for UKFP 2027

Pre-allocation under Criterion 3 Health Condition or Disability will now only be to the foundation school local to the applicant’s UK medical school.  

Applicants who are applying via the Eligibility route, can only apply for pre-allocation under this category to the foundation school local to their current address where they are already living. Proof of address must be for that same foundation school area.

Applicants who have already qualified from a UK medical school on or after 04 August 2025 and are being renominated for the application process by their medical school can only apply for pre-allocation under this category to the foundation school local to their current address where they are already living. Proof of address must be for that same foundation school area.

Criterion requires

  • There must be an absolute requirement for the specialist treatment to continue in the location where it is already taking place, and the signatory who is supporting the application must explain why this is and why it can’t be provided in another part of the UK.
  • The treatment must have already begun at the point of application, and the signatory must make clear why the treatment can’t be transferred to another location. If the request is for the treatment to be transferred to another location, the supporting signatory must explain why this is necessary.
  • The specialist treatment must be currently taking place within the UK at the point of application, and not in another country.
  • Pre-allocation for applicants from UK medical schools can only be to the foundation school which is local/linked to the applicant’s UK medical school. Refer to the Pre-allocation FAQs for a list of each medical school’s local foundation school.

Criterion does not support

  • Applications for pre-allocation under this criterion which are on the basis of treatment which hasn’t yet begun and/or are from applicants who plan on starting future treatment in their area of choice (and don’t yet have a treatment plan), are unlikely to be approved. 
  • Health conditions which require infrequent attendance at outpatient appointments can be accommodated within Foundation training and do not require pre-allocation. Applicants who have requested pre-allocation to a foundation school for this reason are likely to have their application rejected.
  • A pre-allocation application cannot be for one foundation school, with the treatment taking place in a different foundation school area.
  • Pre-allocation for applicants from UK medical schools cannot be to a foundation school which is not their medical school’s local/linked foundation school. Refer to the Pre-allocation FAQs for a list of each medical school’s local foundation school.

This term refers to the provision and management of specialist healthcare treatment (and related services) which are being provided by one or more health care providers. The healthcare specialist managing the treatment is expected to complete the supporting signatory section of the application form.
 
Applicants should note that support networks and requests to live with or near to family members or partners will not be considered as “specialist treatment”.

Pre-allocation to a particular foundation school to be near a support network will not be considered “treatment” even though it is understood that it can help improve mental health. GPs and Therapists may state that allocation (or relocation) to a specific area will help an applicant’s mental health and this isn’t disputed, but in the context of the pre-allocation application process these applications are unlikely to be approved on solely this basis.

GPs cannot be used as a supporting signatory for criterion 3 Health Condition or Disability. This is because applications under this criterion must be supported by a healthcare specialist  who is already directly involved with managing the specialist treatment that the applicant is already receiving.

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers have a legal responsibility to make reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.  Employers must make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, or physical or mental health conditions, are not substantially disadvantaged when doing their jobs.
 
Adjustments may include (for example) flexible working hours, assistive technology and alternative communication methods. Information can be found on the NHS Employers website and the UK government website.

When an applicant is allocated to a Foundation School (whether through pre-allocation or the main allocation process) and matched to an employing Trust or Health Board, consideration should be given to whether reasonable adjustments may need to be put in place by the employing organisation.  

The UKFPO are not the employing organisation, and applicants are advised to contact their Foundation School for advice and begin a discussion with their employer as soon as possible about the adjustments they may need at work. The STEP process also helps support this and applicants are encouraged to make full use of it.

Completing the application form for criterion 3

Part 1 of the application form must be completed by you in which you describe your health condition or disability and ongoing treatment.

  • If you have also had adaptations made at home for a disability, please explain what these are, in addition to the medical treatment you are receiving (applications which require pre-allocation solely on the basis of remaining in adapted housing must be submitted under criterion 4 Extraordinary Circumstances).

Part 2 of the application form must be completed by the current healthcare specialist who is already treating your health condition or disability in which they are required to:

  • describe your current health condition (physical or mental health), or disability
  • describe the nature of the ongoing specialist treatment
  • confirm the frequency of the ongoing specialist treatment
  • explain why the follow up treatment must be delivered in a specific location rather than by other treatment centres in the UK, and why this is an absolute requirement.

Optional checklist – the checklist does not need to be included with your application, and does not need to be uploaded onto Oriel because it is not a mandatory part of the application process. However, if you choose to include it, this is fine.

The information provided by the supporting signatory needs to be legible, clear and explicit.

Download application form Download checklist

Supporting evidence requirements

You are required to provide the following supporting evidence

  1. Proof of current address in your name, and which is in the area of the foundation school that you need to be allocated to (see proof of address guidance for list of acceptable documents).

Supporting signatory requirements

The supporting signatory must:

  • be the current healthcare specialist who is already treating your health condition or disability.  
  • be over the age of 18.
  • have known the applicant for 1 month or more.  In circumstances where this is not the case, the applicant must provide an explanation as to why their supporting signatory has not known them longer, and why an alternative signatory could not be used to support the application.
  • not be in a personal relationship with the applicant.
  • not live at the same address as the applicant.
  • not be related to the applicant by birth or marriage.
  • not be a doctor in training of any grade (up to ST8).