Struggle to fill GP trainee spots

General GP image

40% of places remain unfilled

Figures from Health Education England have shown that increasingly high numbers of GP training places are left empty, adding to the rising staffing shortage.

Despite a second round of recruitment, 451 trainee spots remain available, with the majority of places left open across the north of England and Scotland. The East Midlands for example have 40% of places left unfilled, even after reassessing candidates who did not make the grade first time around. Mersey is another area suffering with poor recruitment numbers, as 30% of their vacancies are also still up for grabs.

Not enough GP’s

BMA’s GP’s committee deputy chair Richard Vautry said “These figures are deeply concerning and represent a serious threat to the delivery of effective GP services to patients. They show that we are experiencing a serious shortfall in the number of doctors choosing to train to become GP’s, which will ultimately mean fewer GP’s entering the workforce across large parts of the UK, most worryingly in areas that are already short staffed such as the north and midlands.” 

Dr Vautry also draws attention to recent reports of under staffing and funding cuts which are also influencing general practice at the moment. “Patients are beginning to see the result of this pressure in a decline in the number of available appointments and the decaying state of the GP practice buildings,” he said.

“This worrying shortage of GP’s will only exacerbate this crisis and could leave us in a situation where there are simply not enough GP’s to cope with the number of patients coming through the door. The imbalance in filled posts between the north and south of England could also mean that we are seeing the opening up of a division in the standard of care patients get in different parts of the country,” he continued.