The National Inter-Deanery Transfer (IDT) Complaints Policy

If you are not satisfied with the way your Inter-Deanery Transfer (IDT) application has been handled, you are able to make a confidential complaint

1. Our Policy

The application and allocation process for Inter Deanery Transfers (IDT), as managed by the National IDT team on behalf of the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans, aims to have methods that are fair, transparent and free from discrimination. We publish our standards and requirements for IDTs on our website and strive to comply with best practice standards. Final decisions regarding lodged complaints will be made in accordance with relevant local and national policies, employment legislation and any other statutory requirements.

However hard the National IDT team tries to respond to the wishes and aspirations of the healthcare professionals accessing our IDT service, we do recognise that, on occasion, our service may fall short of expectations. If you believe this has happened to you, you can use this complaints procedure.

Your complaint, and all accompanying statements and records, will be kept confidential as far as is possible in facilitating a fair and thorough investigation. Whilst your privacy and confidentiality will be respected, this is balanced with the need for an open and fair investigation and for the outcome of the investigation to be reported appropriately, and where necessary acted upon to improve processes and our quality of service. Your complaint may need to be shared with others who have been involved with our process in order to ensure as thorough an investigation as possible.

2. Scope of the Policy

You can complain about how the National IDT team has managed your IDT application if you have evidence that:

• published processes or procedures pertaining to the IDT window have not been followed correctly; or
• your application was not assessed in accordance with the published guidance; or
• the information you provided at point of application, including your supporting evidence, was not assessed in accordance with the published eligibility guidance.
• you provided the correct requested documentation in order to meet a required published deadline, but the team rejected your application at any stage because it stated that you did not meet the deadline

3. Limits of the Policy

The National IDT team excludes the following issues from its complaints process:

• if you disagree with the principle or content of the IDT process, including the eligibility criteria; or
• if you disagree with the outcomes of the IDT process; or
• if you allege unfairness of practice and process but do not supply evidence to substantiate your allegation; or
• if you were judged eligible to be entitled to a transfer but there were insufficient vacancies to allocate a transfer to you;
• if you wish to appeal against any decisions the National IDT team is obliged to take to remain within the appropriate legislative framework; 
• subject to Section 2, paragraph (d), if you have not followed national and local guidance regarding timeliness, provision of documentation, demonstrating eligibility criteria and accepting applications;

Should your complaint fall outside of the scope of this policy, we would still encourage you to contact the National IDT team to let us know why you are dissatisfied. However, your comments may only be used as part of our wider evaluation process and we will be unable to process your comments as a complaint.

4. How do I make a complaint?

Complaints should be made via the Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (PGMDE) Support Portal.

You must provide full evidence to substantiate your complaint either within your email or as an attachment.

If your complaint is about a late application or submission of documentation, you need to provide evidence regarding an IT or electronic failure that prevented your application being submitted on time.

The sooner you make your complaint, the easier it is to investigate and the sooner we can put right any issues if we need to provide a remedy to you. For these reasons complaints must be submitted within thirty calendar days of the incident complained of. Please note that any complaint submitted after this deadline will not be reviewed by the National IDT team.

5. How will my complaint be managed?

Upon receipt of your complaint, the National IDT team will discuss your information with a senior member of the department’s management team. It may also be necessary to share some or all of your information with various other organisations including, but not limited to, the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans, Health Education England and its associated geographies and teams, the British Medical Association, NHS for Scotland, Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency, the Wales Deanery.

Discussions regarding complaints will be held in confidence.

You will receive a full response from the National IDT team regarding your complaint.