Medical chiefs are in uproar after more than 200 doctors were told they had passed their exams when they had failed following a "catastrophic" technical error.
Just under 300 doctors received incorrect results for a crucial medical exam - with 222 wrongly told they had passed when they had actually failed.
The error by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK also meant 61 doctors were incorrectly informed they had failed despite achieving passing grades.
The mistake, which occurred due to a data processing issue, has sparked outrage from the British Medical Association (BMA), which warns of "far-reaching" ramifications for both doctors and patients.
The mistake has sparked outrage from the British Medical Association
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Some medics who were wrongly told they passed may have already progressed in their careers, while others who falsely failed might have left medicine altogether.
The exam in question was the MRCP(UK) Part 2 Written Examination taken in September 2023, with 1,451 medics participating.
This assessment is one of three crucial parts that doctors must complete to progress in their medical specialism training.
The federation confirmed the incorrect results stemmed from a data-processing issue that went undetected for nearly 18 months.
The BMA has called for an immediate independent investigation into how routine audit processes took so long to identify the error.
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BMA chairman Professor Philip Banfield has called for significant support and compensation for affected doctors
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Those impacted by the mistake are now being contacted by the federation, which has promised exam fee refunds and free resits.
Professor Philip Banfield, chairman of the BMA council, said: "Failing an exam is devastating and has consequences for doctors as they work their way up the ladder of expertise; being told you have failed when in fact you have passed, is even worse."
"For those 222 doctors who have spent the past 18 months believing they had passed, but have not, they will be equally devastated and unsure what lies ahead," he added.
The BMA chairman called for significant support and compensation for affected doctors, stating that "the moral, legal and governance aspects of this truly terrible mistake are far-reaching".
Doctors who thought they had passed, but had not, will be 'devastated', BMA chairman Professor Philip Banfield said
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The organisation is now exploring legal options to support impacted medics.
Dr Mike Jones, executive medical director of the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK, offered an unreserved apology for the situation.
"We deeply and unreservedly apologise for this situation," he said. "We appreciate how distressing the candidates affected will find this, and for some it will create an additional burden to the hard and vital work they do."
The BMA has urged all doctors affected by the mistake to contact them for support.
