Medical Students University Places 2022-12-06
2022-12-06
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The question arises from discussions on increasing university places for medical students to address the shortage of healthcare professionals.
What recent discussions has he had with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing the number of university places for medical students, and will he make a statement?
The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. That plan will help to ensure that we have the right numbers of staff, including doctors with the right skills, to deliver high-quality services fit for the future. The plan will be independently verified. We have funded 1,500 more medical school places in England and opened five new medical schools in Sunderland, Lancashire, Chelmsford, Lincoln and Canterbury.
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Assessment & feedback
The question specifically asked about discussions with the Secretary of State for Education, but the answer did not address this point.
Response accuracy
Q2
Direct Answer
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Context
The question focuses on strategies to encourage new medical graduates to work as hospital doctors, particularly in the context of improving general practice.
I thank my hon. Friend for his answer. He will know that it takes five or six gruelling years to get a Bachelor of Medicine or a Bachelor of Surgery degree—but many students, having graduated, think that they would prefer more structured development by working as hospital doctors. What can we do to encourage young graduates to go into general practice?
We have record numbers going into general practice, which is the remit of the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Neil O'Brien), but part of the plan is to make it more attractive through practice improvement through cloud-based telephony, the additional roles reimbursement scheme, the 24,000 extra staff in primary care, developing multi-function staff so that people can develop their skills and have specialism but still practise as a GP, increasing the use of pharmacy, moving towards more continuity of care and the new GP contract for 2024-25.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The question arises from a concern about the shortage of radiologists, dermatologists, pathologists, and histopathologists in the NHS. The speaker mentions specific incidents like one department having only five out of 15 required radiologists.
But when are we going to see the workforce plan? I spoke to a radiologist who runs a radiology department with meant-to-have 15 but currently has five staff, and no applications have been received. There is a shortage of dermatologists leading to undetected skin cancers, and shortages in other areas such as pathology and histopathology.
As I said, we have committed to publishing a comprehensive workforce strategy which, as the Chancellor set out, will be independently verified. That will come soon. We also set out new pension flexibilities and note that there are 29,000 more nurses compared with last year, and we are on track to meet our 50,000 target.
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Assessment & feedback
The specific details about the shortage of radiologists, dermatologists, pathologists and histopathologists were not addressed in depth.
Response accuracy