This week a government immigration advisor opened a can of
worms by suggesting that the number of women doctors working part time is
directly contributing to the current GP shortage.
To make matters worse, rather than resolving the crisis by
putting GPs on the shortage list which would allow more to be recruited from
outside the EU, the health department has been told to recruit from inside the
EU.
The reasoning behind the Migration Advisory Committee’s
decision is that there is not a lack of students coming through medical schools
and therefore shortages can be addressed by changing the incentive structure so
that more doctors choose the GP route rather than the hospital one.
So where does this leave us?
Apart from no doubt angering female GPs, many of whom are
presumably working part time to bring up their children and avoid costly childcare
draining their income, we can’t help thinking that this step gets us no further
forward.
At the end of the day those suffering as a result of the GP
crisis are patients who are forced to wait longer to see a GP or who take the
alternative of going to A&E, thus putting a further strain on the already
stretched NHS.
Of course, one solution would be the hiring of locums,
particularly in the short term whilst practices carry out recruitment for long
term GP posts. Locum doctors can fill
the gaps both for temporary vacancies and those of a semi-permanent
nature. At least this gives the patients
the reassurance they need that a fully qualified doctor is available to see
them when they need an appointment.
Perhaps you have your own views on the GP crisis and how to
solve it? Why not tweet us at
@LocumSelect to share your views.
