Proposals to shorten medical training for doctors in the UK could seriously compromise patient care and safety, leading doctors have warned.
Doctors' organisations say there is a lack of evidence for the plans, which could see the time it takes to reach consultant level cut by two years.
They have called on the government to "pause" the training review.
A Department of Health spokesman said changes would only take place if they were in the best interests of patients.
The Shape of Training review - an independent review into specialist doctor training chaired by Professor David Greenaway of the University of Nottingham - made 19 recommendations for changes in consultant training in its 2013 report.
One proposal was to shorten consultant training from between eight to 10 years to between six to eight years, while another was to allow doctors to be registered to practice when they left medical school, rather than waiting a year.
Patient safety 'compromised'However, a spokesman for the British Medical Association said many doctors were "concerned" by the proposals because doctors "wouldn't be able to achieve the same necessary level of expertise for patients as at present".
The BMA has called for a "pause" in policy development while safety concerns are addressed and said any changes should be piloted in small studies before being rolled out more widely.
"Changes affecting the future medical workforce cannot and should not be rushed. The government need to listen to the concerns raised by the BMA and other stakeholders now that the report is out," the spokesman added.
End Quote BMA spokesmanThe review makes no attempt to explain how doctors can be trained to this skill level in a shorter training programme"
The Royal College of Physicians has also raised concerns, saying that shortening doctors' training would "compromise both quality of patient care and patient safety".
A Department of Health spokesman said no decision had been taken to shorten consultant training or change doctors' registration, adding that any changes would only take place if they were in the "best interests of patients and following appropriate consultation".
'Transparency'Meanwhile, documents seen by the BBC have also raised questions about the transparency and political independence of the review.
An 18-month battle to reveal minutes of undocumented meetings between senior civil servants, politicians and the report's chair concluded in court last month.
The General Medical Council, which sponsored the review and provided administrative support, was forced to publish the details of numerous meetings with ministers and Department of Health officials.
Notes from one meeting between Prof Greenaway and a Department of Health representative said they were eager the report would provide "an opportunity for ministers to be radical".
Minutes from another meeting, which involved other senior civil servants from the department, noted that: "Ministers [are] setting strategic direction and feeling happy".
Neither of these meetings, which took place during the review's call for evidence in 2013, were referenced in the final report.
The GMC said that the notes were an informal record of the conversations, and that the issues were raised to help "inform our thinking".
But the tribunal ruled against the GMC, saying: "We are satisfied that it is strongly in the public interest that these proposals are made on the basis of sound criteria and any political influence or otherwise needs to be transparent.
"There should be transparency relating to the process that led to the conclusions."
A Department of Health spokesman said: "There was nothing other than routine engagement with Sir David Greenaway's independent report from anyone at the Department of Health."
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