28.10.14
Medical schools must play bigger role in training GPs – BMA
UK medical schools must play a greater role in training more GPs to enter the medical workforce, according to Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chair of the BMA’s GP Committee.
Dr Vautrey’s comment comes in response to a BMJ study which highlighted that around 12% of GP training posts in England have been left unfilled for 2014, despite the launch of a third round of recruitment to improve fill rates by Health Education England (HEE).
The BMJ study revealed that figures from HEE showed that in some areas of England nearly a third of GP training posts have not been filled, and that overall across the country 12.4% of posts remain vacant.
“As this study highlights, we are facing a serious shortfall in the number of GPs entering the medical workforce that requires urgent action to resolve,” said Dr Vautrey. “In many areas of the country this is already a reality, with hundreds of GP trainee posts left vacant this year and areas including the midlands and the north facing particularly acute shortages.”
He added that the country is now reaching a stage where general practice will soon not have enough GPs to provide the number of appointments and range of services that patients deserve and need.
“Medical schools do need to play a role in addressing this mounting crisis,” Dr Vautrey added. “In recent years, there has been evidence that medical students’ exposure to general practice has been declining.”
However, the BMA said not all of this is the fault of medical schools as funding for the undergraduate teaching of general practice has been in sustained decline. “It is also clear that one of the reasons medical students are not opting for general practice is this intense and unsustainable pressure current GPs are under from rising patient demand and falling resources,” stated Dr Vautrey.
Within the latest HEE figures it was revealed that the east midlands reported a fill rate of 71% and the north east a rate of 70%. London had the highest proportion of places filled at 98%, followed by the Thames Valley at 97%.
After launching a third round of recruitment to fill positions, a spokeswoman for HEE said that the organisation has increased GP training posts this year to support its mandate to provide a total of 3,250 posts by 2016.
The organisation has also been commissioned to undertake a review of primary care, which will look at issues in recruitment. The review is expected to be published next autumn.
Harrison Carter, co-chair of the BMA’s Medical Student Committee, added that it is very important that students are exposed to adequate GP placements during medical school as this provides “added value” to their medical school experience by giving them more devoted teaching and an understanding of dealing with an ageing population that general practice has a lead role in caring for.
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