Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Paragraph: 38
GP recruitment remains off-track despite trainee growth, requiring further government action.
Conclusion
GP recruitment is essential to resolving the crisis in general practice, and while it is disappointing that the Government remains off track to meet its target to recruit 6,000 additional GPs by 2024, the growth in the number of GP trainees over recent years is encouraging. Nonetheless, there are further steps the Government can take both to increase GP recruitment and improve the outcomes of GP training.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government accepts and is adapting GP specialty training distribution to better reflect population needs as part of NHS England’s trainee redistribution programme. It also highlights ongoing efforts like new medical schools and the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme, which provided £20,000 incentives for training in hard-to-recruit areas, with 800 places available in 2022.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
38
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
Partially accept. The Department partially accepts this recommendation. The Department recognises the importance of the future pipeline of GPs, which is critical for growing the number of doctors in general practice. This is why we have taken steps to expand the number of GP speciality training places to 4,000 per year from 2021 (increased from under 2,700 in 2014), with a record-breaking 4,032 doctors accepting a place on GP speciality training this year. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan has set an ambition to increase the number of GP training places by 50% from 4,000 to 6,000 by 2031/32, with the first 500 new places available from September 2025. To give doctors in GP training more time to develop their skills in general practice, we are increasing the proportion of the training programme spent in general practice, from 18 to 24 months (reducing the time that trainees spend outside general practice to 12 months). This will grow the number of doctors in general practice providing direct patient care, and better prepare doctors for their career in general practice. The General Practice Fellowship scheme also provides a two-year programme of support for all newly qualified GPs working in general practice. Participants receive an experienced GP mentor and funded continuous professional development opportunities to develop experience and support their transition into the general practice workforce. There is no plan to extend GP training beyond three years.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗