The General Medical Council (GMC) has stated that attracting overseas-trained doctors to the UK will remain crucial in spite of plans to train more healthcare staff in the country. Last year, the GMC found that almost two-thirds of new doctors in the UK qualified abroad. The number of full-time doctor vacancies currently stands at 10,855, or a vacancy rate of 7.2%. The government unveiled plans in June to both train and recruit more healthcare staff, however, the GMC has warned that it will take many years for the effects to be felt.
NHS England published a Long Term Workforce Plan that aims to recruit and retain “hundreds of thousands” more healthcare staff over the next 15 years. As part of this plan, the number of medical school places for student doctors will double to 15,000 a year, with £2.4bn set aside for additional training places. It takes five years to train a doctor in the UK, followed by further training. Healthcare services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also have retention and recruitment programmes in place.
The GMC’s Chief Executive, Charlie Massey, has noted that while the drive to boost healthcare staffing numbers is “brilliant”, it will take “the best part of a decade” for the effects to be felt. Mr. Massey warns that “we’re going to need to rely on doctors who have trained overseas coming to the UK in much greater numbers than in recent years” to maintain a healthcare workforce that is capable of meeting the population’s needs.
In addition to the need to continue attracting international medical staff to the UK, the GMC has also expressed concern about retaining doctors who are already working in the country. In 2022, around 15% of the total number of doctors leaving the UK profession – or around 2,000 people – went to practise abroad. Mr Massey noted the importance of ensuring that overseas-trained doctors in the UK receive adequate support. The GMC runs events to help such medical professionals to adapt to working in the country. Doctors in the UK must be registered with the GMC before they can practise
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