WANTED: MORE MINORITY DOCTORS
The government has launched a new drive to encourage more students from deprived backgrounds to study medicine.
Of the medical school population, research shows that 74 per cent come from the highest three social classes, while just 38 per cent of the working age population is from this background. Black and ethnic minority applicants have been shown to have difficulty securing nursing course places, while Asian ethnic minority groups are also under-represented.
The Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England have collectively allocated £9 million funding to nine new schemes aimed at redressing the balance.
Health minister John Hutton also announced that the government would meet the costs of variable tuition fees for medical and dental students in their fifth and sixth years of the standard undergraduate courses, and the second, third and fourth years of fast-track courses. The move brings them into line with nurses and other health professionals.
“It is vital that the NHS not only improves the health of all sections of the community, but also accurately reflects that community in the people it employs,” he said.
”We need more doctors, nurses and AHPs and we need them from all walks of life. It is unacceptable that some people are effectively held back from these professions because of their financial, social or cultural background.”
The move came after the government confirmed the allocation of extra funding towards recruiting refugees with healthcare skills into the NHS.
Since its establishment in 2001, the Refugee Health Professional Steering Group has received £1.5 million funding.
However, addressing an Employability Forum conference in July, Hutton announced that a further £500,000 would be spent on the scheme, which offers such projects as language courses, clinical skills courses and work shadowing schemes.
“Refugee nurses and doctors have a great deal to offer the NHS and we want to help them use their skills,” he said.
“Refugees are not like other international health professionals – most did not choose to come to this country and may come unprepared for life in the UK.
“They need help getting up to the standards needed to pass the necessary English language tests and clinical exams, and they also need a proper induction into the workings of the NHS. Being able to access the right training and support is crucially important for refugee health professionals, so that everyone can benefit from their skills.
“This new boost is good news for refugee health professionals and patients.”
WANTED: MORE NHS DENTISTS
The government has announced its plans for improving the provision of dentistry services within the NHS.
The health secretary confirmed that an extra £368 million will be invested to improve recruitment and training.
Ministers pledged to recruit 650 new dentists by October 2005 from both the UK and overseas, while those who have left the profession will be offered a new deal and flexible working to return. Those still in practice will be encouraged to increase their commitment to the NHS.
The government will fund an extra 179 undergraduate dental training places in England from October 2005, an increase of a quarter, while funding of NHS dentistry will increase by more than £250 million a year.
There will also be reforms to the service – a new dentists’ contract will be introduced, with new roles for hygienists and dental nurses. In addition, local primary care trusts will be responsible for sustaining expenditure on dentistry from the £1.6 billion devolved budget.
“I have demanded we recruit 1,000 more dentists immediately to make it easier for people to see an NHS dentist, but I also want to reform the system so dentists want to work for the NHS in the future,” said John Reid.
“Dental services will be properly integrated with the rest of the NHS providing better access to services and an improved patient experience. The package of measures I’ve announced today represents an unprecedented level of government commitment and investment in NHS dentistry.”
• Just when you thought it was safe to go out and queue for a dentist, a report by the Department of Health predicts that the shortfall in NHS dentists will more than double by 2011.
In England, less than half of adults are registered with an NHS dentist and in 2003 there was a shortage of 1,850 dentists.
