Expansion of the International GP Recruitment Programme

The General Practice Forward View committed to 5,000 more doctors and 5,000 other health professionals like clinical pharmacists, nurses, and physician associates in general practice by 2020. As well as more GPs, it will mean bigger teams of staff providing a wider range of care options for patients and freeing up more time for GPs to focus on patients with more complex needs.

While GP training places are increasing year-on-year and many GPs are returning to practice, many practices continue to face recruitment issues, and newly qualified GPs are often locuming rather than joining a practice as a permanent GP. Some older GPs are leaving the profession early. This is leaving a gap between the number of doctors practices want, and the numbers they are successfully recruiting and retaining. That is why we are working with partners to partly bridge that gap through scaling up targeted international recruitment to a total of 2,000 overseas doctors over the next three years. As part of this we are today announcing the next 11 areas that we are working with as part of the programme.

We will follow the World Health Organisation Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel and all doctors will need to meet the highest standards of practice and speak good English. We will look to attract UK-trained doctors back to the UK wherever possible and target those countries where there is likely to be the best chance of affordable supply.

Learn more about the International GP Recruitment Programme. https://www.england.nhs.uk/gp/gpfv/workforce/building-the-general-practice-workforce/international-gp-recruitment/