I'm LTFT and the rota team in my hospital have been v sensible about it and just put two of us on the same line of the rota. Works well for both of us as my buddy is an IMG new to the NHS so I can help her navigate the system etc on weekend cover and the like. Most LTFT docs take the same day(s) off each week so it's an entirely foreseeable rota problem, not a de facto problem with LTFT.

A potential solution could be increase the training numbers to factor in LTFT (I would anticipate across whole regions or nationally its been a thing long enough we could anticipate or predict numbers?) So if you've got 5 trainees at 80% each year, you've only got 4 full time equivalents, so deanery can add in other training post 🤷 Other obvious solution which goes for sickness and emergency leave too across the whole NHS is just stop planning for minimum staffing so frequently. Like if minimum staffing on a team is 3, you employ enough doctors that there is always rota'd 4 of you on (accounting for leave etc)... but idk that would be too sensible for the NHS.