NHS needs to produce more doctors, says BMA chairman
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《英国医生杂志》
The continuing reliance on overseas doctors to keep NHS services afloat was condemned this week by the BMA抯 chairman, Mr James Johnson, in his keynote speech to representatives in Llandudno.
After more than 50 years of the NHS Mr Johnson said it was time that the NHS was self sufficient in producing the doctors it needs to provide the nation抯 health care.
"We have relied on other countries to fill our NHS manpower gaps, both for nurses and doctors. As the fourth largest economy in the world we are still doing so—still taking doctors away from countries like South Africa and nurses from the Philippines, who need them more than we do. It抯 a shameful record of exploitation," said Mr Johnson. "Surely after over half a century of the NHS we should be producing enough doctors to look after our patients."
Despite an extra 32 000 new doctors joining the profession since 1997 the NHS is still "woefully short" of doctors, he said.
Reduced hours and part time working will largely mop up this added capacity. A third of new doctors will be swallowed up by the regulations governing the hours junior doctors can work. An extra 3700 junior doctors will be needed to cover reduced workloads this year, rising to 9900 new doctors when the limit for their working hours drops to 48 a week in five years?time.
Mr Johnson praised the contribution of doctors from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who, he said "have been the mainstay of the NHS for the last 40 years," often with "scant acknowledgment" and often subject to "outright discrimination."
He called for an expansion of the medical workforce to allow greater flexibility for doctors who want to work part time and those who "quite rightly" want to have a better balance between work and personal life.
"We want to train more doctors—but, I stress, more fully trained doctors. We must avoid creating a new underclass of perpetually treading water while they wait for an elusive training place in their chosen specialty," he said.
"Patients deserve fully trained doctors, and we have to provide them without working them 72 hours a week," contended Mr Johnson. "Never again must we create a career cul de sac for doctors and then compound the error by trapping our overseas trained colleagues in it."(Llandudno Zosia Kmietowic)
After more than 50 years of the NHS Mr Johnson said it was time that the NHS was self sufficient in producing the doctors it needs to provide the nation抯 health care.
"We have relied on other countries to fill our NHS manpower gaps, both for nurses and doctors. As the fourth largest economy in the world we are still doing so—still taking doctors away from countries like South Africa and nurses from the Philippines, who need them more than we do. It抯 a shameful record of exploitation," said Mr Johnson. "Surely after over half a century of the NHS we should be producing enough doctors to look after our patients."
Despite an extra 32 000 new doctors joining the profession since 1997 the NHS is still "woefully short" of doctors, he said.
Reduced hours and part time working will largely mop up this added capacity. A third of new doctors will be swallowed up by the regulations governing the hours junior doctors can work. An extra 3700 junior doctors will be needed to cover reduced workloads this year, rising to 9900 new doctors when the limit for their working hours drops to 48 a week in five years?time.
Mr Johnson praised the contribution of doctors from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who, he said "have been the mainstay of the NHS for the last 40 years," often with "scant acknowledgment" and often subject to "outright discrimination."
He called for an expansion of the medical workforce to allow greater flexibility for doctors who want to work part time and those who "quite rightly" want to have a better balance between work and personal life.
"We want to train more doctors—but, I stress, more fully trained doctors. We must avoid creating a new underclass of perpetually treading water while they wait for an elusive training place in their chosen specialty," he said.
"Patients deserve fully trained doctors, and we have to provide them without working them 72 hours a week," contended Mr Johnson. "Never again must we create a career cul de sac for doctors and then compound the error by trapping our overseas trained colleagues in it."(Llandudno Zosia Kmietowic)