The number of licensed UK doctors continues to grow despite increasing rates of burnout and NHS backlogs.
According to the General Medical Council’s annual report on medical education and practice, the number of doctors joining the UK workforce has been double the number leaving every year since 2019, but still not enough to keep up with health service workloads.
For this reason, the GMC says it is vital that the UK continues to attract international medical graduates and improves how they are integrated and retained in the workforce. In 2022, more than half (52%) of new joiners were from outside the UK.
It adds that even if the number of UK-based doctors increases in line with the government’s Long Term Workforce Plan, almost a third of all doctors will be international medical graduates by 2036, and 39% of UK doctors will have qualified overseas.
Doctor workforce
In 2022, the number of doctors joining the UK medical register rose by 18% to 296,182. The number of doctors leaving the workforce increased from 9,825 to 11,319.
The number of “locally employed” doctors increased dramatically in 2022 – these are doctors who are employed by trusts on local terms and conditions, usually in non-permanent posts. Many doctors said taking these flexible posts helped them to confirm their preferred speciality and built up their clinical competencies.
Similarly, doctors who had taken time away from training felt more informed about their future career path, and better prepared for the demands of the next step. Linear progression through postgraduate medical training, where students must complete each stage in a minimum time, is becoming increasingly rare, the report suggests.
The GMC’s report argues that the changing NHS workforce landscape could help to reduce levels of burnout and dissatisfaction, increasing the likelihood of UK doctors remaining in practice.
In June, a workforce census carried out by the Royal College of Physicians of London, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow found almost one in five doctors (18%) almost never feel in control of their workload, while 44% reported having an excessive workload almost always or most of the time.
“Many of these changes will have long-term benefits,” said Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC.
“We know, for example, that post-foundation training breaks can reduce the risk of burnout and help young doctors build confidence in their next steps. For some, they help provide certainty over their choice of specialty.”
“Workforce thinking needs to keep pace with these changes. The ability to provide good patient care, now and for the foreseeable future, depends on the ability to respond quickly to changing career pathways, and to think clearly about making the most of the resources available.”
Emma Runswick, deputy chair of British Medical Association council, said: “Continuous recruitment of international medical graduates is not sustainable solution to the UK workforce crisis and we also have ethical concerns that reliance on them could cause serious shortages elsewhere; we must focus on developing and retaining our existing doctors.
“More doctors than ever continue to leave UK practice, and a growing number are quitting because of dissatisfaction and the high risk of burnout. Others are taking longer periods away from training after working just two years post-graduation, with many citing their health and wellbeing as a common reason.
“Employers should look to offering these doctors an alternative career pathway, drawing on their skills with appropriate specialty or specialist contracts, but employers are often resistant to this approach. The government must take the findings of this report seriously and implement a thorough workforce retention plan before our current staffing crisis reaches breaking point. The GMC itself acknowledges that the clock is ticking.”
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