Portsmouth will host a new medical school which aims to address the city’s ‘severe shortage’ of GPs.
King’s College London and the University of Portsmouth have collaborated to deliver a new four-year, graduate-entry medical programme for 54 students from a branch site in Portsmouth.
Opening in autumn of 2024, the programme is targeted in particular at future recruitment into general practice.
Last year, analysis by the Nuffield Trust revealed that it was one of the areas in England with the fewest GPs, with around 40 per 100,000 patients.
And in November, the Government’s chief medical office Professor Chris Whitty said a national strategy for coastal towns is needed to solve their issues with GP shortages.
A Pulse investigation last year revealed that around one in three medical students end up working in general practice.
Portsmouth also has higher than average levels of social deprivation which puts additional pressure on primary care, according to King’s.
A similar programme was announced last year by the University and Cumbria and Imperial College London – the two organisations planned to launch a four-year graduate medical school in Carlisle from 2025 to help address GP shortages.
The University of Portsmouth’s vice-chancellor Professor Graham Galbraith said: ‘Our city does not have adequate numbers of GPs and the intention is that this development will contribute to reducing the waiting times local people experience in gaining access to services.’
Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB’s chief medical officer Dr Lara Alloway said the new medical school is an ‘important step forward’ to improving local medical recruitment, ‘especially general practice’.
Health minister Andrew Stephenson said the four-year course is in line with the long-term workforce plan’s commitment to offer fast-track medical degrees.
‘It’s clear the NHS remains a strong career destination for the next generation of students and this new partnership will expand opportunities in an area we know is struggling with workforce shortages,’ he added.
The NHS long-term workforce plan, announced over summer this year, committed to investing £2.4bn to double medical school training places and increase GP training places by 50%.
However, GP raised concerns about the extra capacity needed to train more GPs and host more medical students in general practice placements.
A Pulse analysis found that implementing the workforce plan would require a doubling of general practice training capacity in the next five years.
A senior administrator from the Whitley Council (an Ancient institution and by the sea), has announced their intention of introducing a ‘lightening fast medical degree’. The benefits of this degree, are that you can complete it in your fortnight of annual leave from McDonald’s and will have no student loan repayments.
There is no shortage of GP’s just a shortage of GP jobs. The market is over saturated and training more GP’s will just make underemployment worse. PA’s , open NHS visas and a lack of funding are leading to unemployment and poor pay in general practice.