Key findings from the 2025 General Medical Council (GMC) National Training Survey

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) is committed to ensuring that the NHS in Wales has a skilled and supported workforce who can deliver the highest quality care for patients.  

The GMC National Training Survey is a vital tool, providing valuable insights into the experiences of resident doctors and their trainers across Wales. HEIW is very grateful to all those who took the time to complete it.  

The 2025 results highlight both progress and ongoing challenges. Although response rates were slightly lower than last year, Wales led the UK with 82% of resident doctors and 48% of trainers taking part. This is well above the UK average of 70%, giving HEIW strong, reliable feedback to guide training decisions in Wales and to ensure trainers receive the support they need. 

What do the results say? 

Positive trends in training quality 

Overall satisfaction in Wales remains high. Key areas such as clinical supervision, teamwork and feedback have steadily improved since 2024, showing continued recovery from the pandemic’s impact. Notably, the score for the ‘reporting systems’ category has increased consistently in recent years. This may be due to increased signposting on how to raise concerns, along with initiatives such as ‘HEIW Open’ which is a confidential email address encouraging resident doctors to share concerns in confidence. These initiatives provide residents with greater opportunities to engage with HEIW and it gives HEIW more insight into challenges across post graduate medical training in Wales, enabling continuous review and improvement. 

Speciality highlights 

Palliative Medicine consistently receives positive feedback and several specialties including Psychiatry of Learning Disabilities and Neurology have seen improvements and positive feedback too. However, some programmes for example within the ‘School of Medicine’ continue to face challenges, often linked to workload pressures and rota design. HEIW in collaboration with health boards, aims to improve rotas and ways of working, as well as supporting Less Than Full Time (LTFT) working, which for some helps to address fatigue and risk of burnout. 

Supporting flexible training 

An increasing number of trainees are opting for Less Than Full Time (LTFT) training, which has risen by 16.3% in Wales over the past decade. This trend highlights the need for flexible rotas to retain talented professionals and support staff in achieving a healthy work–life balance. 

Trainer perspectives 

Trainer survey results align closely with those of trainees, showing comparable outcomes to the rest of the UK. Gradual improvements in ‘appraisal for educational roles’ and ‘resources to train’ have been reported in recent years. And the score for ‘time for training’ has increased, but detailed results highlight that only 44% of trainers in Wales feel able to use their allocated training time. This is an area that HEIW continues to focus on.  

Ongoing challenges  

Workload remains the biggest challenge for trainees in Wales and across the UK and while progress has been made, further improvements are vital to boost staff wellbeing. Although risk of burnout among trainees and trainers has eased slightly since its 2023–24 peak, it remains a serious concern which requires a UK wide approach. HEIW has a number of workstreams which have been developed to support staff however a system wide approach is needed. 

The induction process for new staff has been identified as an area for improvement, with scores in Wales slightly below the UK average. HEIW has recently published guidance which aims to improve this.  

Turning insights into action 

HEIW uses the GMC survey results as an important evidence source within quality management. Positive feedback is shared as good practice, while areas of concern trigger targeted reviews and action plans. All feedback, especially around patient safety and workplace culture is investigated and used to drive improvements. 

Ian Mathieson, Director of Education Strategy and Transformation said: 

“HEIW is committed to supporting the best possible care for people across Wales, by delivering consistently high-quality education and training. The insights we gain from the National Training Survey which come directly from trainees and trainers help us to achieve that and we are grateful to everyone who completed it. Your feedback is invaluable.” 

Visit the HEIW website for further information on pre-registration education and training in Wales.