The cash-strapped NHS is spending thousands of pounds to hold job interviews with junior doctors in luxury surroundings.

Doctors from hospitals across Sussex are among 30,000 applying for 22,000 vacant senior posts around the country who are being invited to locations such as hotels, football stadiums and racecourses.

The system is part of the new controversial national Medical Training Application Service (MTAS) recently introduced to appoint doctors.

Thousands of junior doctors have been holding angry demonstrations against the system, which they say has been mismanaged.

Under the MTAS system, doctors who left medical school between two and four years ago are applying for jobs across the UK which focus on an area of expertise such as cancer medicine or paediatrics.

Candidates who made it through the first round are being invited for interviews with senior doctors and NHS managers.

The interviews have been organised by deaneries - NHS organisations responsible for filling posts for doctors in different areas of the UK.

The deanery of Kent, Surrey and Sussex has joined forces with its London counterpart to stage the interviews and has spent tens of thousands of pounds hiring four-star hotels, boxes at football stadiums and at racecourses such as Sandown.

A spokesman for the deanery said NHS and university buildings were also being used.

He said: "The Kent, Surrey and Sussex Deanery is recruiting jointly with the London Deanery to more than 4,500 training posts in primary and secondary care.

"Many different venues are being used for recruitment interviews, examinations and assessments, including deanery and University of London buildings, NHS Trusts, Medical Royal Colleges and private conference venues.

"Sandown Racecourse was used for one day for an examination for 800 applicants in General Practice and is one of the very few venues in Kent, Surrey and Sussex that can cater for such a large number of people."

However the new system has been criticised by senior doctors who say it is not working properly and the morale of junior doctors has been badly affected.

They say mistakes have been made and the computer system the scheme relies on has descended into chaos.

Gordon Caldwell, a senior consultant at Worthing Hospital and its director of medical education, said the system had gone wrong.

He said in previous years staff would apply for a post at a specific hospital and then go for an interview there.

Under the new system candidates are invited to apply for a post in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region rather than a specific hospital.

Dr Caldwell said he knew of several incidents where things had gone wrong.

He said: "I know one junior doctor who went for an interview under the impression it was for a post in urology only to find it was for general surgery.

"Another candidate was sent to Oxford for an interview only to be told when they got there it was for the wrong date.

"Some of my juniors have spoken about being based in expensive hotels, racecourse and executive suites and they have said themselves that they could have easily been held in side rooms off wards.

"The junior doctors at Worthing are top rate but this whole new system has left them confused, distracted and upset and the system is not going to get better easily."

Chairman of the Patients' Association, Michael Summers, said: "There are plenty of hospitals and other facilities available which would not cost the earth.

"These places are expensive and this is an inappropriate use of money."

Earlier this month, the Government agreed to an independent review of the MTAS, the initial findings of which revealed "shortcomings."