Medical degrees to be cut from five years to four and training places to double as part of new drive

By Liam On Jun 30, 2023

Medical degrees are being reduced from five to four years in an effort to put tens of thousands of additional doctors on hospital wards.

Ministers intend to use Brexit to change training rules previously imposed by the EU.

The move is part of a package of measures to reduce waiting lists by strengthening the NHS workforce, with an additional 60,000 doctors and 170,000 additional nurses by 2036/37.

Bosses also expect an additional 71,000 paramedics, such as physiotherapists, midwives and pharmacists.

The ambitious proposals are detailed in the first NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, published today and backed by £2.4 billion in government funding.

Ministers intend to use Brexit to change training rules previously imposed by the EU. The move is part of a package of measures aimed at reducing waiting lists by boosting the NHS workforce (file photo)

The blueprint warns that healthcare staffing shortages could more than triple over the next 15 years – from 112,000 to 360,000 – due to a growing and aging population, coupled with new treatments.

The NHS says it will try to embrace more homegrown talent and reduce reliance on foreign workers as competition for healthcare workers increases around the world.

It is also reducing its reliance on expensive temporary workers thanks to a record-breaking recruitment campaign, cutting the taxpayer bill by around £10bn between 2030 and 2037.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard described it as a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity to put staff on a sustainable footing and improve patient care’.

Measures in the plan, which comes before the NHS’s 75th anniversary on Wednesday, include:

Doubling medical training places to 15,000 by 2031, with new schools and more places in areas with the greatest shortages;

Halving GP training places to 6,000 in 2031;

Nearly doubling the number of adult nurse training places, with 24,000 more nurse and midwife training places per year by 2031;

Enable employees to ‘earn as they learn’, with apprenticeships leading to full training but more on-the-job training;

Greater reliance on ‘associate’ roles that can help with less demanding tasks, freeing up senior colleagues for complex matters;

Expansion of clinical psychology and child and adolescent psychotherapy courses, with the number of places increasing by more than a quarter to 1,300 by 2031;

A renewed focus on retention with better career development opportunities, enhanced flexible working and pension reforms to keep 130,000 staff working longer in the NHS.

The ambitious proposals are detailed in the first NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan, published today and backed by £2.4bn of government funding (File photo)

The NHS and government will consult with the medical regulator and universities about introducing four-year medical degrees. Graduates would still have to complete their degree with an additional two years of basic training in a hospital, as is the case today.

AMANDA PRITCHARD: We need to train more staff in the UK

The NHS has achieved many milestones over the last 75 years; the world’s first baby born after IVF, the first heart surgery performed by a remote-controlled robot and the world’s first recognized Covid jab.

Today marks another milestone as we publish the NHS’s first long-term workforce plan – a unique opportunity to put the healthcare workforce on a sustainable footing.

The history of healthcare is one of innovation and adaptation. We are no longer the NHS of the iron lung and TB, we now have genomic medicine, lung trucks and virtual wards. What has remained constant is the dedication, skill and compassion of our employees. That’s despite more than 112,000 job openings, a gap that will more than double over the next 15 years without action. The demand for healthcare workers is growing in almost every country, which is why we need to take action and train more staff here at home.

Doing nothing is not an option, so I am delighted to be publishing today a long-term plan that is the first step in future-proofing the NHS. There will always be a role for the brilliant colleagues who come here from abroad, but we will also train a record number of staff and expand alternative routes to the NHS with more apprenticeships.

We will also maximize the benefits of technology and AI in routine tasks, so staff can spend more time with patients.

Working in the NHS isn’t always easy, but it’s just as rewarding today as it was when the health service was founded on 5th July 1948. It’s definitely a decision I’ve never regretted. So if you’re interested in a career in the NHS, or have loved ones who might be, find out more.

Prior to leaving the EU, training in the UK was covered by the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive (MRPQ), which requires 5,500 hours of training and at least five years to become a doctor.

The Department of Health and Social Care says the UK is now no longer bound by the directive and can consider options to reduce training periods.

The General Medical Council should be sure there are no risks to patient safety, but last night appeared to support the move, saying there is “a strong case for innovation in medical education.”

In the next five years alone, medical positions will increase by almost a third, nursing training positions by more than a third and GP training positions by a quarter.

Meanwhile, by 2028, 16 percent of all clinical staff training positions will be offered through apprenticeships – including more than 850 medical students.

Ms Pritchard said: ‘The publication of our first ever NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan now gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get staff on a sustainable basis for years to come.

“As we try to adapt to the new and rising demand for healthcare services worldwide, this long-term blueprint is the first step in a major and much-needed expansion of our workforce to ensure we have the staff we need. to take care of patients.’

Louise Ansari, CEO of Healthwatch England, said patients will ‘very much welcome the news’ that the NHS will be training more doctors and nurses.

But Dr Latifa Patel, head of staff at the British Medical Association, said: ‘Accelerated undergraduate degrees and apprenticeships have not been tested and should not lead to a two-tiered system of doctors.’

Rishi Sunak said: ‘On the 75th anniversary of our health service, this government is undertaking the largest expansion in NHS education and training in its history. This is an investment plan and a reform plan.’

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Our plan will end reliance on costly agency workers, while reducing waiting lists in years to come and building an NHS that can handle the scale of tomorrow’s challenges.’

Professor Sir Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, also supported the proposed training and retention reforms, saying they will ‘create opportunities for more people to study and train in parts of the country that have historically struggled have to recruit’.