CT1 Anaesthetics and ACCS Application 2027: Dates, Person Specification and Competition

When does the CT1 anaesthetics application open for 2027?

The CT1 anaesthetics application for 2027 entry opens on Oriel at 10am on Thursday 22 October 2026 and closes at 4pm on Thursday 19 November 2026. Both dates are confirmed on NHS England's specialty recruitment timelines page.

• Applications open: 10am, Thursday 22 October 2026 (confirmed)
• Applications close: 4pm, Thursday 19 November 2026 (confirmed)
• National interview window: Monday 11 January to Friday 2 April 2027 (confirmed)
• Initial offers: 5pm, Tuesday 6 April 2027 (confirmed)
• Hold deadline: 9am, Friday 9 April 2027 (confirmed)
• Upgrade deadline: 4pm, Wednesday 14 April 2027 (confirmed)
• Anaesthetics MSRA and interview dates: Not yet published for 2027; ANRO publishes them before the window opens

These are the national Round 1 dates for CT1 and ST1 entry across specialties. ANRO's own applicant guidance adds the anaesthetics MSRA window and interview dates, and the 2027 edition of that guidance is the document to plan around when it appears.

What were the 2026 CT1 anaesthetics dates?

The 2026 CT1 anaesthetics round ran the MSRA from 6 to 19 January, interviews from 25 February to 13 March, and offers by 24 March 2026, according to ANRO's guidance for that round. These are the 2026 position, not 2027 dates.

• MSRA window (2026): 6 to 19 January 2026
• Interviews (2026): 25 February to 13 March 2026
• Offers (2026): By 24 March 2026, per ANRO; some third-party pages say 31 March

The shape is what to plan against: about seven weeks from the close of applications to the MSRA, then five weeks to the first interviews. With initial offers fixed at 6 April 2027, expect the 2027 interviews to sit in a similar late-February to March slot.

How competitive is CT1 anaesthetics?

CT1 anaesthetics had 6,770 applications for 539 posts in 2025, a ratio of 12.6 to 1, so about 8% of applicants were appointed. Those are NHS England's published Round 1 competition ratios.

• Applications (2025): 6,770
• Posts (2025): 539
• Ratio: 12.6 to 1
• Appointed: About 8% of applicants
• Comparison: Core Surgical Training 5,399 for 630, 8.6 to 1; Internal Medicine Training 8,841 for 1,678, 5.3 to 1

According to NHS England in June 2026, the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act cut 2026 Round 1 to about 16,066 prioritised applications and most ratios to about 2 to 1. The 2026 anaesthetics ratio itself is not yet published, so 12.6 to 1 remains the last complete figure.

In practice the ratio measures the field, not your odds. With the interview at 85% of the score, where you rank is decided in two 15-minute stations, and anaestheticinterview exists to practise those.

What does the CT1 anaesthetics person specification require?

The CT1 anaesthetics person specification, published by NHS England for each round, sets the essential criteria your application is longlisted against. The 2027 edition was not published as of 11 September 2026; the 2026 edition is the reference until it is.

Read the wording, not the headings. Eligibility is assessed on competences attained by the deadlines the specification sets, and an application that misses a document at the close of the window is longlisted out without appeal.

ANRO's applicant guidance is the companion document: it explains how each criterion is checked, what evidence is needed and when. Work from those two sources rather than from deanery pages, which are often years out of date.

How do you apply for CT1 anaesthetics on Oriel?

You apply for CT1 anaesthetics through a single Oriel application that covers both CT1 anaesthetics and ACCS anaesthetics, submitted between 10am on 22 October and 4pm on 19 November 2026.

• Register an Oriel account before 22 October 2026; the account, not the form, is what takes time.
• Submit the application by 4pm on 19 November 2026 with every document the person specification requires.
• Register with Pearson VUE when prompted after the window closes and book the MSRA in the January window.
• Wait for the interview invitation, which follows the MSRA and prioritisation at shortlisting; applicants not invited first join the Shortlist Reserve.
• Attend the two 15-minute online stations, then receive an initial offer, if ranked high enough, at 5pm on 6 April 2027.

Recruitment runs in three clusters, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, with one interview each and a single transferable score within England and Wales.

How is the MSRA used for CT1 anaesthetics?

The MSRA is 15% of the CT1 anaesthetics selection score, 7.5% from each paper, and it allocates interview capacity. According to ANRO there is no cut-off score; applicants not invited in the first pass join a Shortlist Reserve and are called in rank order.

The MSRA is sat at Pearson VUE test centres. In 2026 the window was 6 to 19 January; the 2027 window is not yet published. Register with Pearson VUE as soon as the message arrives after applications close, because slots in the window fill.

What is the difference between CT1 anaesthetics and ACCS anaesthetics?

CT1 anaesthetics and ACCS anaesthetics are two routes into anaesthetics training that share one application, one interview and one mark scheme. ACCS is the Acute Care Common Stem route, and you preference the routes and regions within the same Oriel application.

For the application itself the difference does not change what you do: the same person specification, the same MSRA, the same two stations scored out of 100 and the same 60-mark appointability threshold. The Interview Overview in this guide covers that scoring.

Is there a self-assessment for CT1 anaesthetics?

No. There is no self-assessment at CT1 anaesthetics. Part 3 of the application form was removed, so degrees, prizes and courses are no longer scored at application. Self-assessment applies at ST4 entry only.

That said, the achievements still matter. Commitment to specialty is one of the three domains in the General Interview station, worth five marks per assessor, and the interview is where your portfolio is now assessed, in words.

One warning about older sources: a Royal College of Anaesthetists news page describing a single-station interview still ranks in search. It dates from 2022 and is contradicted by current ANRO guidance.

How does prioritisation affect the 2027 anaesthetics application?

For 2027 the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026 applies at shortlisting as well as at offer, so prioritisation now decides who is invited to the anaesthetics interview, not only who receives a post.

The 2027 criteria are not yet set. NHS England said on 17 August 2026 that regulations were still being agreed across the four nations and that the 2026 immigration-status proxy will not apply automatically. Expect the criteria before applications open in October 2026.

What should you do before anaesthetics applications open on 22 October 2026?

Before 22 October 2026, register on Oriel, read ANRO's 2027 applicant guidance when it is published, gather the documents the person specification lists and start timed MSRA practice.

• Register an Oriel account and diarise 19 November 2026; the window is four weeks.
• Check the 2027 person specification against your own record as soon as it is published.
• Start MSRA practice under time; the first-pass invitation depends on it.
• From December, rehearse both interview stations aloud: they are 85% of the score.

anaestheticinterview's question bank has 340 questions across the Clinical Judgement and General Interview stations, with model answers and AI-marked spoken practice, for £97 to the end of the 2027 interview window.

Top Tips

• Work from ANRO's own applicant guidance; it is published in full before each window and is unusually detailed.
• Diarise 22 October and 19 November 2026; the window is four weeks.
• There is no self-assessment to score, so put the autumn into MSRA practice and spoken answers, not into a portfolio nobody will grade.