Increase in GP trainees ‘fantastic achievement’
THE number of GP trainee positions being filled in Wales is increasing year-on-year, it has been revealed.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething confirmed that Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), the body responsible for education, training and development of the healthcare workforce, recruited a total of 176 people for GP training in Wales.
This represents an increase of 13.5% compared to the same stage of recruitment in 2019, and an increase of 58.5% since 2018.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales has continually called for 200 trainee places annually to address the growing demands facing general practice.
Meanwhile, there was an overall fill rate of 99.3% across the 15 secondary care core and speciality training programmes in Wales.
This includes fields such as core surgical training and internal medicine training, with 425 out of 428 available posts already filled.
Mr Gething said Wales managed to achieve the highest fill rate out of all four UK nations.
“This is a fantastic achievement against a backdrop of the greatest challenge that NHS Wales has ever faced through Covid-19,” he said.
“Since 2016 we have worked in partnership with HEIW and other key stakeholders from NHS Wales to promote Wales as a destination of choice for junior doctors through our marketing campaign ‘This is Wales: Train Work Live’.
“The campaign has helped lay the groundwork for the improved recruitment position.”
For the fourth consecutive year, the Welsh Government has operated two financial incentive schemes for GP training.
One is a targeted scheme offering a £20,000 incentive for trainees taking up posts in specified areas with “an historical trend of low fill rates”, while the other is a universal scheme offering a one-off payment for all trainees to cover the cost of sitting their final exams.
In response to the fill rates, Dr Phil White, chairman of the General Practitioners Committee (GPC) Wales, said: “Demand for services remains high and these fill rates, along with increases in the number of training posts, will go a long way to ensuring we can continue to meet the needs of our community.
“BMA Cymru Wales has continued to call for 200 GP trainee places annually to address demand facing general practice, therefore we’re pleased to see a 13.5% increase this year, bringing us closer to this magic number.
“It’s encouraging to see Wales recognised as a solid choice for training, especially during a time that has seen our NHS tackle one of its biggest challenges in living history. It highlights the continued dedication of our doctors in Wales.
“We must ensure that these training places continue to be filled across primary and secondary care, especially in rural areas that are traditionally more difficult to fill, by providing a fair offer to trainees in Wales.”
However, he warned that fill rates vary “wildly” across Wales and between specialties.
He added: “The pandemic has also seen trainees and other doctors working in unprecedented circumstances, with training taking a back seat for many.
“How we train our future specialists will be a measure of how serious Welsh Government is in investing in this training and protecting the time needed to ensure that all our doctors are as trained and as up-to-date as possible. This is important not only for patient safety, but the future of our NHS in Wales.
“We will continue to work with Welsh Government to share views of the profession to ensure we are meeting the needs of our doctors, and ultimately caring for patients as best as we can across the whole of Wales.”