1,500 junior doctors' job offers in UK withdrawn after blunder

In a major goof up, up to 1,500 junior doctors in the UK who were offered posts as registrars have had their job offers withdrawn, with authorities blaming human error for the mistake that has left many emotionally and financially stressed.

Last week, the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) discovered a significant number of candidates were credited with the wrong score, because of an error transferring data from one computer programme to another - and may therefore have received an incorrect job offer.

The RCP, which oversaw the recruitment, has apologised, blaming human error. It said the process would have to be re-run, the BBC reported.

In a statement, the British Medical Association said it was "appalled".

"We cannot express how unacceptable we find this situation," adding: "This has caused extreme anxiety for trainees."
"We have taken this approach to be fair to all candidates which can only be achieved with the real scores used."
"We have conveyed our expectation that college will support and compensate these trainees for any inconvenience."