Extra GP training places announced

New undergraduate medical courses to attract people to general practice will be funded by the Scottish Government.

The Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow will deliver the new courses, which will enable existing healthcare professionals to retrain as GPs.

The move seeks to address a retention and recruitment crisis among family doctors. Last year it emerged previous attempts to boost the workforce had attracted only 18 new doctors. 

The new funding will support 85 new additional places at the universities.

Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The innovative proposals from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow universities will see 85 new places to specifically promote general practice as a long-term career for young doctors, and allow experienced healthcare professionals who may be interested in becoming doctors to enter medicine.

“The courses will include more involvement of GPs in teaching and assessment and enhanced GP placements in deprived and rural settings.

“While our new GP contract will make general practice a more attractive career by cutting workloads and giving doctors more time with patients, these new medical places are a further step we are taking to train and retain more family doctors in Scotland.”

Professor Moira Whyte, Head of the University of Edinburgh’s College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, said: “By combining new technologies and traditional medical teaching in general practice and hospital settings, we hope to reduce barriers that have previously deterred people from moving between health professions. We expect the scheme will make an important contribution to addressing doctor shortages across Scotland.” 

The new places will be staggered, with 60 beginning in 2019-20, and 25 places beginning in 2020-21.

Speaking from his Aberdeenshire practice, Dr Alasdair Forbes, Deputy Chair (Policy) of RCGP Scotland, said: “This is a welcome initiative as part of what must be a whole set of solutions to help address the fall in GP numbers.

“We have to recognise that these students will not translate into practicing GPs for another ten years or longer. Continuing work will need to be done to address the more immediate and problematic shortfall of 856 Whole Time Equivalent GPs by 2021.”