22.10.14
NHS recruitment drive lands 260 extra A&E doctors for winter
The government has drafted in dozens of foreign doctors to help stave off a winter crisis in A&E, the health secretary has announced.
Fifty experienced medics from India, the UAE, Egypt and Malaysia have been recruited on short-term contracts from November as part of an A&E recruitment drive by Health Education England and the College of Emergency Medicine.
They are among 260 extra doctors who will bolster A&E units as pressure continues to grow on hospitals across England.
The move comes amid fears that hospitals could find it difficult to cope if the country is hit by prolonged cold weather or a serious outbreak of a flu or vomiting bug.
The Department of Health said that the NHS was facing rising demand due to an ageing population, and that 3,500 more people now go to A&E every day compared with 2010.
Pressure on A&E departments has also been worsened by increasing numbers of people unable to get GP appointments. According to research from the British Journal of General Practice about 5.7 million people, or around a quarter of attendees, had gone to A&E in 2012-13 after being unable to see a GP.
The doctors from abroad will join 58 medics transferring to emergency medicine from other disciplines, 101 more doctors than last year who have chosen to specialise in emergency medicine and 51 doctors more than usual who have chosen to remain in the specialism.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We know some parts of the NHS are under pressure because of increased demand.
“That’s why we’re investing in a record number of A&E doctors so patients continue getting treated quickly.”
Most of the extra doctors are junior, but according to research by the College of Emergency Medicine, there are only about three-quarters of the number of consultants needed in A&E units in England, with the shortfall being made up by locum doctors.
Gordon Miles, chief executive of the College of Emergency Medicine, told the BBC that extra junior and overseas doctors in A&E was "a great starting point" and "will help" but A&E departments still lacked the necessary numbers of experienced consultants.
Health Education England director of education and quality, Professor Wendy Reid said: “By working collaboratively across the whole health system and particularly with the College of Emergency Medicine, HEE has shown that we can raise the profile of a medical specialty and improve recruitment.
“We have emphasised the importance of a multi professional approach to meet the needs of patients at a critical time in their lives.”
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