The Inter-Deanery Transfer (IDT) conditional offer process consists of 2 rounds.

Allocation

Training regions will look for vacancies after receiving an anonymous list of eligible Inter-Deanery Transfer (IDT) applicants against the individual locations specified on your application form. They will report back to the National Inter-Deanery Transfer (IDT) team and advise who can be accommodated during the vacancy window.

Finding vacancies for national IDT allocation is a local process which will be carried out by each training region. This ensures that individual regions retain central control of workforce planning and how vacancies are filled on their training programmes.

If there is more than one IDT applicant that could fill a vacancy, priority will be given based on criterion as listed below.

Priority level Criterion
Priority level

Priority 1

Criterion Criterion 1A and 1B
Priority level Priority 2 Criterion Criterion 2 and 3
Priority level Priority 3 Criterion Criterion 4
Priority level Priority 4 Criterion Criterion 5

If there is more than one IDT applicant that could fill a vacancy among eligible applicants of equal weighting, they will be allocated for transfer using a validated randomisation algorithm. The administration for this stage of the process is carried out in conjunction with a lay representative and a representative from the British Medical Association (BMA).

The IDT conditional offer process consists of 2 rounds. The first round will allocate suitable vacancies confirmed by training regions from the list of eligible IDT applicants, as well as agreed swaps which had been highlighted by the National IDT Team, more information on swaps can be found on the Useful Information page. 

The second round of offers will allocate to vacancies created by IDT applicants accepting their offers in the first round. The second round is at the discretion of the training regions and some may not wish for this to take place for their vacancies. The completion of the second iteration offers will be dependent on the completion of first iteration offers.

Important: Important

The National Inter Deanery Transfer (IDT) team would like to caution you that being found eligible for an Inter Deanery Transfer does not guarantee that a transfer will take place. For a transfer to occur, your preferred region/s must have a vacancy in their training programme, unless a direct swap can be facilitated.  

Vacancies usually occur as a result of an unfilled post at national recruitment, or the resignation of someone currently on the programme. For smaller specialties where there are fewer training posts nationally, the likelihood of vacancies occurring can be small.  

There is no obligation for training regions to prioritise National IDT placements over national recruitment rounds. While we encourage regions to fill vacancies with IDT, there may be legitimate reasons why some regions need to fill all their vacancies with new recruits. 

Offers

Where it has been confirmed by the region that an IDT can be accommodated, you will receive a conditional offer via email from the National IDT team. You will be provided with 48 hours in which you are required to accept or decline the conditional offer. At this stage, this is a conditional offer to be finalised between you and the region.

Important: Important

It is important that you frequently check your email mailboxes, including any subfolders and junk folders, throughout the duration of the IDT window to avoid accidently missing important email notifications.

Under no circumstances will any extensions be granted for missed emails.

When you accept your conditional offer from the National IDT team, your contact details will be sent to the prospective training region at the end of the offers process.

The prospective training region will make initial contact with you within the advised timeframe as published on the timeline, though they may not have full details of the offer at this time. If the region has not made contact after the published date, please contact the regional office directly.

Once the region has made contact and you have received the details of the offer, including start date and location, you can still accept or decline the post offered. This does not affect any future application that you may make to national IDT.

On discussion of any personal or training requirements you may have, the prospective training region can withdraw their offer if they cannot accommodate your requirements. This also would not prevent any re-applications in a future window to that training region.

If you accept the offer, you should then work your notice period with your current region. It is your responsibility to hand in your notice to your current region in line with your local processes if an IDT is confirmed. 

If you choose to decline the offer, you will not receive another offer during that IDT window and you will not be transferred to the waiting list. This does not prevent you from re-applying again in a future window to that or any other training region.

Should your eligibility status change for any reason after accepting a conditional offer, you must, in line with the terms and conditions of submitting an application, inform the National IDT team. Please be aware that if this is the case, the offer could be withdrawn. This may be the case even if you request to defer the offer as regions cannot accommodate deferrals.

Once your proposed receiving region has made contact with you, you must confirm with both your current region and proposed receiving region within 5 working days of them making contact with you whether you wish to progress with the transfer. If you no longer wish to progress with the transfer, you must inform your offer region, current region and the National IDT team so that we can offer the post to another IDT applicant.

Should you choose to withdraw from the post after accepting it and the vacancy that has been created at the former training region has been filled by another IDT applicant in these second round of offers, you may not be able to be accommodated on that programme and you may have to wait to return to training in that region.

There is no upgrading of offers available throughout the IDT offers process. If there is a suitable training vacancy available, you will only receive a single offer.

Transfer of information

Your former training region will arrange for a transfer of information to your new training region. The information that will be transferred will include the following.

  • Trainee file.
  • Responsible officer notes and files on any known fitness to practice, investigations or causes for concern.
  • A Postgraduate Dean (or nominated deputy) letter of support for a recent awarded ARCP outcome 2 or 3. 

Waiting list 

Those who are eligible for an IDT but who have not been offered a transfer owing to a lack of suitable available posts after the second iteration of offers is complete, will be automatically placed on a waiting list. The priority order for each criterion will still apply as the main round.

IDT applicants will also be placed on the waiting list if, after contacting the individual, regions determine the available post does not fulfil their outstanding training curriculum requirements.
While on the waiting list you will not be able to change your preferences. Preferences, as well as any locations listed within these preferences stated on the application form, will remain constant through to the waiting list process.

If the National IDT team is notified by a region/deanery after the second iteration of offers that they have a vacancy which can be filled by an IDT applicant, the post will be offered to an applicant on the waiting list who has preferenced that region. In order to be offered a post while on the waiting list, you must still meet the eligibility criteria. Although allocations will be made in the same way as in the main offer rounds, the allocation of offers will be made as and when vacancies are confirmed by regions throughout the waiting list period.

The waiting list will run until the start of the next IDT window (when supporting documents and guidance are published). At this point, all applicants will be removed from the waiting list and if an applicant still wishes to transfer, then they must submit a new IDT application in the next window. 

Re-applications

If you are applying again, you will be required to submit your most recent ARCP (as well as all other evidence) but you do not have to do a new supporting document if the circumstances under which you are applying have not changed since your last application. However, you will need to get the coversheet signed by the original signatory of your supporting document to confirm that all information is the same.

Re-applications will only be accepted from up to 2 consecutive windows prior. After 2 rotations, you will be expected to provide newly completed documentation. For example, if your first application was in February, you will only be able to re-use the relevant supporting evidence/documentation up until and including the following February.

Page last reviewed: 4 July 2023
Next review due: 4 July 2024