Student Placements in General Practice

Thank you for contacting me about student placements in General Practice.

I appreciate the concerns raised by this campaign from the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). I entirely agree that it is essential that General Practice is properly supported by the NHS.

The Government is keenly aware of the need to boost the number of General Practitioners and make sure that GPs are well supported by the health service, as they are not only the frontline of NHS care, but also vital to our communities, up and down the country. This is why the Government has funded the NHS's own plan for the future of GPs, the General Practice Forward View for.

The General Practice Forward View places a high priority on bolstering the GP workforce. It should see 5,000 more doctors, and 5,000 more other staff working in general practice by 2020, compared with 2015. This will be done by increasing the numbers of GPs in training to 3,250 per year, and launching a major international recruitment campaign, to attract the world's finest medical talent, as well as nurturing a new generation of home-grown GPs. The Government is also investing an additional £2.4 billion a year by 2020/21 into General Practice, to address the pressures currently facing primary care.

Progress is being made. I am happy to note that in 2017, the number of doctors recruited in to GP training was 14 percent higher than in 2015. I hope you are reassured to know that Health Education England is working closely with the RCGP to ensure General Practice is a popular, and well-supported destination for our doctors.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.