Publish date: 5 October 2025
SAS Week 2025 - celebrating our specialty and specialist doctor workforce
From 6 to 10 October, we are marking SAS Week 2025 to recognise the contribution of this part of our workforce.
SAS is a term for specialty and specialist grade doctors and dentists with at least four years of postgraduate training, two of which are in a relevant specialty.
SAS doctors and dentists are a much valued part of the varied and diverse NHS workforce, so we are recognising their contribution this week.
We have more than 50 SAS doctors and dentists across all specialities, so we thank them for the part they play in Team Northumbria.
We will be sharing blogs from 5 SAS doctors at the trust across this week - you will be able to find these in our blogs section. They will reflect the different themes across the week.
Monday 6 October - SAS as a career choice and the SAS Charter
Tuesday 7 October - Specialist grade
Wednesday 8 October - SAS in extended roles / SAS development
Thursday 9 October - Equalities and the Medical Workforce Race Equality Standard (MWRES)
Friday 10 October - SAS advocate role and SAS wellbeing
Dr James Walton and Dr Mark Harrison, from our emergency department at the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington, said: "We have a group of SAS doctors within the emergency department (ED). They are a cornerstone of our team. They bring a wealth of expertise, playing a vital role in delivering high-quality patient care, while contributing to overall service development.
"Their commitment and dedication makes a real difference every day. They are integral to the service we offer in the department. Their skills, experience and contribution are vital to the outstanding care we provide, and to the supportive workforce culture we strive for in ED."
Meanwhile, Dr Iain Goff, the trust's director of medical education, added: "I'm really proud of Northumbria's record on integrating SAS doctors into both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Over the past decade, SAS doctors have become an integral part of the senior education team and have helped inspire a new generation of SAS doctors to get involved in teaching and training.
"I look forward to the future involvement of SAS doctors in the trust, whether as front-line teachers, researchers or in educational leadership."
