Recruiting more medical students will not get “anywhere near” to solving the UK’s shortage of doctors unless it is accompanied by renewed efforts to retain existing trainees, the incoming chair of the Medical Schools Council has said.
Ministers have ruled out extending a temporary uplift in funding allowing schools to take on more medical students that was introduced during the pandemic, resulting in a squeeze in admissions this year.
Some, including the Russell Group, have warned that the decision has “limited opportunities” at a time when the NHS is in the midst of a recruitment crisis.
