Foreign doctors ‘will flood Britain unless we pay our GPs more’

BRITAIN faces being flooded with foreign family doctors unless medical students are offered higher salaries to become GPs, experts say.

Medical students during class GETTY/PIC POSED BY MODELS

Not enough medical students are opting to become GPs

Each year there is a shortfall of around 400 new GPs, even though 16,000 family doctors earn six-figure salaries.

At least 600 receive more than £200,000 a year.

Yesterday the Department of Health was urged to consider increasing pay to attract new recruits.

The Home Office-appointed The Migration Advisory Committee said the growing number of women doctors who want to work part-time have also put pressure on the number of available GPs.

The committee rejected the Department of Health’s demands that it be free to recruit GPs from outside the EU because it said it found no shortage of medical students in the NHS.

It said staffing shortages were down to a lack of incentives for students to work in surgeries rather than hospitals when their training ended, it said.

Committee chairman Professor David Metcalf said: “There is a shortfall in the numbers of GPs being trained.

"The solution to this is in the hands of the health service.

There is a shortfall in the numbers of GPs being trained

Professor David Metcalf

“Money could come in to it through whatever recommendation they make through the pay review board or other conditions of the job.”

Any rise in salaries would be controversial and is likely to add to criticism of GPs who have been able to opt out of providing care at evenings and weekends since 2004 under a Labour-negotiated deal that also saw their average salaries top £105,000.

But a failure to get more home-grown GPs would lead to a reliance on foreign-born doctors.

Roger Goss, of Patient Concern, said: “Our GPs are already some of the best paid in the world.

"I don’t understand why we don’t have enough of our own.

“It’s ridiculous that the Department of Health thinks it needs to recruit abroad.

“Using foreign doctors is a risk to patients because there may be language problems which could have fatal consequences.”

Dr Maureen Baker, of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We have an ageing GP workforce, with many approaching retirement.

"But not enough medical students choosing to enter general practice to replace them.”

Last night a Department of Health spokesman said: “Since 2010 we have 1,000 extra GPs however we accept it is difficult to recruit in some areas of the country.

“To combat this we will train 5,000 more GPs and ensure half of medical students become GPs by 2020, while incentivising GPs to return from career breaks and invest in their profession.” 

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