A medical degree delivered by King’s College London and the University of Portsmouth is set to help address the severe shortage of GPs in the south of England.
King’s graduate entry medical programme typically accepts 23 students a year, but will now be expanded to a further 54 students in Autumn 2024 at a new King’s branch campus at the University of Portsmouth.
The move has been taken in part to address the lack of GPs in Portsmouth which was revealed by the Nuffield Trust in 2022.
Portsmouth also has higher than average levels of social deprivation, which puts further pressures on primary and secondary care – this initiative will combat that through its graduates and the wider benefits associated with having a local medical school.
“A medical school in our city is a long-held vision for the University of Portsmouth.”
The University of Portsmouth’s vice-chancellor, Professor Graham Galbraith, continued: “Our city does not have adequate numbers of GPs and the intention is that this development will contribute to reducing the waiting times local people experience in gaining access to services.”
The course will focus on integrated medical science with clinical teaching, as well as hands-on learning in close proximity to patients.
Andrew Stephenson, health minister, said: “It’s clear the NHS remains a strong career destination for the next generation of students and this new partnership will expand opportunities in an area we know is struggling with workforce shortages."
He continued: “It will encourage groundbreaking research both regionally and globally, while offering a fast-track medicine degree in four rather than five years, a key commitment in our Long Term Workforce Plan.”
The branch campus is a step in the University of Portsmouth’s vision for its own medical school, which aims to intake its first students by 2028/29.
King’s College London’s vice-chancellor and president, Professor Shitij Kapur, added: “This exciting new partnership is an unprecedented opportunity for both institutions, combining King’s prestigious and well-respected medical education with the University of Portsmouth’s expertise in rare diseases, genomics and neurology.
“This dynamic approach to education is part of our ambition to deliver service to society. By co-creating a new medical school in Portsmouth, we will help to redress health disparities in the Portsmouth area and provide the next generation of doctors for the region.”
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