18 December 2015
RCGP Response to HEE's Figures Showing More Doctors Being Accepted For GP Training
Health Education England report an increase in the number of trainees who have been accepted for the third round of GP training in 2015.
Dr Maureen Baker, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “It is excellent news that we are seeing more doctors entering general practice, particularly at a time when we have a chronic shortage of GPs and soaring patient demand.
“General practice is a fantastic profession and it is the only role in the NHS that delivers care to the whole person over their lifetime. We are also now managing diseases and conditions in our surgeries that only a decade ago would have been immediately referred to hospitals.
“It is testament to the success of the joint 10-point-plan, launched at the beginning of this year with NHS England, Health Education England and the BMA, and shows how important a strong general practice workforce is to our patients and to the wider NHS.
“There is a still a long way to go and we urge government to do everything possible to implement the recommendations in the 10-point-plan to ‘recruit, retain, return’ as many GPs as possible over the course of this parliament.”
Further Information
RCGP Press office: 020 3188 7574/7575/7581
Out of hours: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk
Notes
The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 50,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.