No short-term solution in sight to GP shortage
27 February 2015
The UK’s immediate requirement for general practitioners is unlikely to be addressed in the near-term due to the profession not being added to the government’s skill shortage list this week.
Fri, 27 Feb 2015The UK’s immediate requirement for general practitioners is unlikely to be addressed in the near-term due to the profession not being added to the government’s skill shortage list this week.
A report from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the body that advises government on the limits on immigration under the points-based system and skills shortages within occupations, was released earlier this week, revealing no shortage of medical students.
While the MAC acknowledged the Department of Health (DoH) was missing out on its desired target ratio of GP to population of 0.7 per 1,000, it observed no shortage of medical students and consequently advised the department to concentrate on promoting the GP profession to these students.
The MAC added that rather than immediately adding GPs to shortage occupation lists, it would wait and evaluate the success of the department’s push to incentivise medical students to take up GP roles.
A spokesperson for Health Education England, the national leadership organisation for education, training and workforce development in the health sector, told Recruiter its mandate from the DoH was to provide 3,250 GP training places and fill them by next year.
It was “well on course” to achieve that number, and was working on a variety of initiatives to ensure general practice is seen as an “exciting and interesting” career choice for trainees.
Such initiatives include increasing the number of GP training places available, as well as marketing campaigns and roadshows with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to promote the profession.
But Shubber Raja, managing director at healthcare staffing specialist MediLink, told Recruiter he disagreed with the MAC’s verdict, while GP shortages have caused him to consider setting up a GP-dedicated recruitment division of his business.
“We’re starting to see a lot more demand in London for GPs,” Raja told Recruiter. “We should do a lot more and allow GPs onto the shortage list because doctors and nurses are hugely in demand.
“GPs is definitely a division we would like to set up,” he added.
A report from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the body that advises government on the limits on immigration under the points-based system and skills shortages within occupations, was released earlier this week, revealing no shortage of medical students.
While the MAC acknowledged the Department of Health (DoH) was missing out on its desired target ratio of GP to population of 0.7 per 1,000, it observed no shortage of medical students and consequently advised the department to concentrate on promoting the GP profession to these students.
The MAC added that rather than immediately adding GPs to shortage occupation lists, it would wait and evaluate the success of the department’s push to incentivise medical students to take up GP roles.
A spokesperson for Health Education England, the national leadership organisation for education, training and workforce development in the health sector, told Recruiter its mandate from the DoH was to provide 3,250 GP training places and fill them by next year.
It was “well on course” to achieve that number, and was working on a variety of initiatives to ensure general practice is seen as an “exciting and interesting” career choice for trainees.
Such initiatives include increasing the number of GP training places available, as well as marketing campaigns and roadshows with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to promote the profession.
But Shubber Raja, managing director at healthcare staffing specialist MediLink, told Recruiter he disagreed with the MAC’s verdict, while GP shortages have caused him to consider setting up a GP-dedicated recruitment division of his business.
“We’re starting to see a lot more demand in London for GPs,” Raja told Recruiter. “We should do a lot more and allow GPs onto the shortage list because doctors and nurses are hugely in demand.
“GPs is definitely a division we would like to set up,” he added.
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