10-Year Health Plan to prioritise UK doctors

The recruitment of UK trained doctors is to be prioritised as the Government targets a self-sufficient NHS workforce by 2035.

(c) Hush Naidoo Jade Photography

(c) Hush Naidoo Jade Photography

The plan, which is scheduled to be published this week, will say that less than 10% of new doctors should be recruited from overseas, according to The Times.

A lack of career opportunities has meant the NHS has failed to keep up with the expansion of training programmes, the plan will say.

It commits to prioritising ‘UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the NHS for a significant period for foundation and specialty training'.

Doctors are to be asked to prioritise returning to work as a treatment goal in order to combat rising benefits' costs.

Work coaches are to be sent to GP surgeries and NHS leaders are to be given targets to help people back to work.

NHS services will be ‘new duties' to employ staff from their local areas but the document criticises ‘an inexorable rise in staff numbers based only on demographic changes and in the absence of any reforms to the model of care'.

The plan will promise ‘neighbourhood health centres in every community' led by GPs, with more outpatient appointments held in local clinics.

Prevention will be to the fore with the most frail patients identified for preventative care by specialist teams aiming to keep them out of hospital.

NHS foundation trusts are to become self-governing with some taking over all healthcare in their area.

A BMA spokesperson said: ‘If this is accurate then the Government will need to show it can implement this much-needed reform at pace. Doctors are facing severe underemployment as we speak and waiting until 2035 to give them a fair shot at a training place will lead to more leaving the profession in the meantime.  By next year we need to have a system that prioritises UK grads while making sure those international colleagues already here don't lose out.'

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