People from working class backgrounds are no more likely to become doctors now than they were in the 1960s, according to new research on social mobility.
According to a report from King’s College London, children of doctors are 100 times more likely to become doctors themselves than children of people in “routine” working class roles such as bus drivers, security guards or factory workers.
Having a parent with a professional occupation makes someone six times more likely to become a doctor than if their parent had a working-class job, pointing to “deep-rooted inequalities” in access to medical careers, the research team found.
Medical profession
The researchers looked at labour force data from the Office for National Statistics and found that the chances of people from working-class backgrounds “did not meaningfully change” between the 1960s and the 2010s.
Currently, the medical profession is the single most socio-economically exclusive profession in the UK – only 13% of doctors come from working-class backgrounds as defined by the Social Mobility Commission.
Doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, has previously said that doctors need to be “as representative as possible of the society they serve” so they can provide the best possible care.
According to the researchers’ analysis, the share of female doctors dramatically increased from 25% to 60% between the 1960s and 2010s, which they say makes the persistent under-representation of working-class doctors “all the more surprising”.
Dr Nathan Cheetham, lead author and senior postdoctoral data scientist at King’s College London, said: “When the majority of doctors come from the most privileged backgrounds and those living in the most deprived areas consistently report poorer quality of care, we must consider whether the class background of doctors has an impact on patient-doctor relationships.
“Although our study was one of the largest to examine the socioeconomic background of doctors, the data we looked at only represented a small fraction of the workforce, and so is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Only by collecting data on the socioeconomic background of all registered doctors, including information about their role, can we fully track and tackle this class inequality at the heart of the NHS.”
The Social Mobility Foundation agreed with this recommendation, urging the government to ensure that NHS organisations are covered by any future requirements to report on socio-economic data and address inequalities.
The NHS 10-Year Health Plan includes a proposal to start collecting socio-economic data, but there is no timeline for doing so.
Sarah Atkinson, CEO of the Social Mobility Foundation, said: “No young person should be prevented from becoming a doctor because of their class background – not least because our health service treats everyone right across our society.
“But medicine remains the most elitist profession in the UK. Opening up medical careers to a wider talent pool is a win-win: better patient care and better opportunities for bright young people.”
She added: “But this research shows that we can’t afford to delay. The government, NHS and General Medical Council must work together to start collecting and publishing data urgently, ensuring that it covers all doctors in the UK and is broken down by occupation and seniority.
“They can then set targets to address the deep-rooted inequalities in medical careers.”
Melat Beyene, a medical student and participant on the SMF Aspiring Professionals Programme, said she was disheartened that social mobility in medicine had remained “stagnant” for such a long time.
“As the first in my family to go to university, it was difficult to find work experience or know where to start compared to my peers with parents in the profession to guide them.
“Having doctors from various backgrounds is imperative, not just due to the importance of equal access to opportunities, but also for patient care and understanding of cultural nuances. I hope to see changes in this area in the future,” she added.
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