Government to up investment in student doctors

The government has outlined plans to increase the UK's investment in homegrown medical staff in order to end the NHS's reliance on staff from overseas.

Medical school places will increase by 25 percent from 2018, rising from 6,000 to 7,500 a year. These plans are being put in place in response to current figures showing that around one-quarter of the medical workforce is trained outside the UK.

At present, a shortage of medical staff worldwide is putting pressure on health systems, the NHS included. The skills shortfall in Britain is expected to be exacerbated by an ageing population and the impact of Brexit.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "By the end of the next parliament we will make the NHS self-sufficient in doctors."

Mr Hunt offered assurances that EU nationals who are already in the country will be able to remain even after the UK departs the European Union. Meanwhile, trainee doctors will have to work in the NHS for four years before they can accept overseas postings, in order to prevent an exodus of talent.

The British Medical Association has stated that the plans do not go far enough to plug the current skills gap, adding that this initiative will not stop the NHS from needing to recruit overseas staff.

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