Appeals

To make an appeal concerning one of the subjects listed below, you need to complete the relevant Appeal form at the bottom of this webpage, and email the form to helpdesk@foundationprogramme.nhs.uk. Forms will be published at the relevant time for the appeals process they relate to.

Appeals are only accepted during the relevant appeals windows, and appeals sent to the UKFPO outside of these time frames will not be considered.

Further information about the processes and timelines for appeals are in the relevant appeals guidance documents at the bottom of this webpage.

Applicants who graduated overseas or from a UK medical school more than two years before the start of the programme to which they are applying are required to apply through the eligibility process.

Eligibility applications are considered by the UKFPO in accordance with the eligibility criteria.

10% of all eligible applications are reviewed and quality assured by an independent eligibility checking panel.

Applicants who are considered ineligible at the end of this process can submit an appeal if they believe that processes or procedures have not been followed, or there is evidence of unfairness in how the process has been implemented, and the objectivity of decisions is called into question.

Applicants have the option to apply for pre-allocation to a particular Foundation School based on their personal circumstances (refer to the guidance on the UKFP webpage). Applications for pre-allocation are reviewed by a national panel comprising of medical school, foundation school and UKFPO representatives.

Applicants who are not approved for pre-allocation can submit an appeal if they believe that processes or procedures have not been followed, or there is evidence of unfairness in how the process has been implemented, and the objectivity of decisions is called into question.

Applicants who qualified from medical school two years before the start of the programme must also undertake an assessment of their clinical skills in the UK before being granted full eligibility. The primary purpose of this assessment is to determine suitability to start the foundation programme. The assessments will be undertaken by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Applicants will sit a set of 12-station Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in approximately four hours.

Applicants who are unsuccessful and do not pass the clinical assessment can submit an appeal if they believe that processes or procedures have not been followed, or there is evidence of unfairness in how the assessment process has been implemented, and the objectivity of decisions is called into question.

Applicants cannot make an appeal simply because they disagree with the principles of the SUoA recruitment process or the judgements or outcomes that have been made by the application scorers/interview panels. Applicants may request a review by the SUoA where processes or procedures have not been followed, or there is evidence of unfairness in how the process has been implemented, and the objectivity of decisions is called into question.

Applicants who are not approved for an Inter-foundation school transfer can submit an appeal if they believe that processes or procedures have not been followed, or there is evidence of unfairness in how the process has been implemented, and the objectivity of decisions is called into question.