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50 practices to benefit from £12,000 bursary to employ returner GPs

NHS England has identified 50 practices to access £12,000 in bursary support and employ GPs going through the NHS Returners Scheme after a career break or time abroad.

The practices have all struggled with recruitment for at least 12 months, and applied to participate in the NHS’s Targeted Investment in Recruiting Returning Doctors Scheme – officially unveiled in March.

Eight of the practices are in London, 12 in the South, and 15 each in the Midlands and North.

And they include a number of practices Pulse has been lobbying NHS England to support after reporting their issues through its Stop Practice Closures campaign.

In many cases this support, pledged in the 10 point plan for GP recruitment last year, has come late, such as the Kington Medical Practice, Hertfordshire which has previously closed two of its branch surgeries after being unable to recruit,

The scheme enables each practice to access:

  • Up to £8,000 in relocation allowances for GPs
  • Up to £2,000 in an education bursary
  • Up to £2,000 locum cover for when the new GP is undertaking educational sessions

This will be used to relocate and train GPs coming through the returner scheme, who will be required to stay with the practice for at least three years.