Newly qualified GPs now working in Tesco!

[chocolatenutcase]

This makes me so sad. The state of nhs funding particularly funding to primary care means that newly qualified GPs can't get jobs in the U.K. Sad? No actually I am absolutely furious that the British public are denied decent health care.

There is not a shortage of doctors in the uk - there is a shortage of doctor posts. There are about 1,000 uk trained med school graduates this year who do not yet have jobs to go to after 5-6 years of training. There are many who have been told which deanery (basically region) they'll be working in but won't find out the town or hospital they're going to until 2-4 weeks before - how are they meant to find places to live and move their lives and families?

There's another 'crunch point' when the med students have completed the F1 and F2 years and look to apply to speciality training, the competition ratios this year are insane, not enough jobs to go around, so doctors are forced to either do an 'F3' year, live off locum shifts (which are increasingly filled by PAs), leave medicine, or move abroad.

The government would have you believe that there's a shortage of doctors and the strikes are solely about money - nope.

Same here , it's a really lovely rural practice by the sea but it's so difficult to get a replacement since one of ours retired , his replacement only stayed a couple of years.I dread my own GP retiring, she's only part time now as it is .

@decionsdecisions62 from a few pages in your search includes random jobs with general in the title. There are seriously not 1000s of vacancies, <100 is more realistic.

Did you bother delving any deeper than just searching 'general practitioner' on nhs jobs?

If you looked at the jobs, you'll see the vast majority aren't for GPs, of the first page, 6 are, and 5 of those are in prisons.

If you search on healthjobs, it returns 7 salaried GP posts in the whole country, which is much more in keeping with what Im hearing as an nhs doctor, who's wife is a gp.

We need more GPs, but the government has squeezed practices to breaking point, then offered funding via ARRS to employ any staff they want to help apart from doctors in order to push physicians associates, and advanced care practitioners, pharmacists and paramedics into medical roles.

Your comparison is not relevant. It is more like if you disqualifies a teacher, wanted to work as a teacher but no one was recruiting. The OP isn't angry with the GP. She sounds angry at the NHS

But I think the story is a bit odd as, like others have said, there are lots of GP jobs being advertised

Completely this. It doesn't suprise me one bit- my medical WhatsApp and social media groups have been regularly filled with GPs pleading for jobs.
I know there are some rurally but plenty have families and don't want to relocate across the country.

The government has essentially decided other professions will provide primary care. It's not unrealistic that in some areas you won't be able to see a doctor- one doctor will instead supervise a whole host of allied health professionals.

In certain areas there are not enough jobs for the number of GPs finishing training. So they will have to uproot family and move to the few rural areas where they are struggling to get GPs. That is always an option.

But patients want to see a GP and when there are qualified GPs unable to get jobs there's a problem. I'm furious that newly qualified GPs can find jobs and furious that patients are denied access to a GP because the funding is for every other role except doctors.

@Arlanymor GP training takes 3 years and during that time they have to pass a knowledge exam, a consultation exam and complete a portfolio through their time as a GP trainee. They also have to complete a minimum number of days in work. This all gets signed off by a panel of GP educators. So they can be weeks from qualifying as a GP having done all the exams and portfolio entries but just have to complete the time served.

@titchy they used to locum but in areas particularly Manchester and Cheshire there is very little locum work available.

CremeEggThief

Are you also furious at people like me who managed to get a bursary twice for 2 attempts at teacher training and didn't pay any tuition fees both times and decided not to go into full-time teaching? It's absolutely none of your business. YABU.

Lol.... What?

A medical student is unlikely to ever repay their student loan if they work in Tesco.
My DC did a healthcare masters degree and has a student debt of £85k, now 5 years post graduate.

This must be regional to some extent? Nationally there are shortages of gp.

My friend is a GP and she says the job market for them has really changed because funding has been cut. She was hoping to look for a job in a different area but it's not realistic for her now and that's one of the reasons

practices are desperate for GPs!

I have quite a few gp partner friends who are ridiculously overworked as they can't find GPs to add to their practice

I am speaking from a place of ignorance on this, so please forgive me if this is a stupid question, but what are the barriers stopping trained doctors from setting up their own private service either alone or with other GPs who can't find work in the NHS?

Is it just too expensive? Is it a different form of licence? Is the market for this oversaturated?

Aware this doesn't solve the huge issue of lack of NHS provision, but would possibly help solve some of the employment problem.

It's very true that a lot of GPs are unemployed at the moment. This is because practices are given money to employ health professionals who are not doctors e.g. nurses, pharmacists, physios but they can't use the money to employ GPs. Effectively the practice might be really short of GPs but they don't have the money to employ them.

It's going to result in loads of gps leaving the country or giving up medicine.

Not many people want to see a GP privately especially outside London.

They can easily find GPs. There is just no money from the nhs to pay for them.

The NHS has ring fenced money for non-doctors such as physician associates to work in GP.

These people absolutely cannot substitute for a real GP but it's all the practices can afford so they are having to take them on.

As a result posts and locums for qualified GPs has dried up.

There absolutely is the money there, it's just been wasted on unqualified staff by NHS England.

So you have a lot of GP’s that need jobs and you have a lot of practices that need GP’s?

Practices can’t hire GP’s because the funds available are earmarked for other roles?

These newly qualified GP have had at least some of their education paid for through taxes?

And some people can’t get GP appointments for love nor money?

This is a system that’s working?

@saltinesandcoffeecups in a nutshell, yes.

And that's without getting on to the impending disaster of physician associates

I'm a fully qualified consultant but it would be illegal for me to work in GP. But someone who has done a 2 year course with 100% pass rate, can't prescribe, can't order an X-ray and isn't regulated is apparently fine to deal with the complexity and risk of general practice.

It can be good having other qualified professionals within the practice eg independent prescriber pharmacists, practice nurses who can prescribe, physios but while these people are excellent at managing long term conditions none have the training to diagnose and initiate treatment. That is where a sufficient number of GPs are needed.
As for physician associates - all very well on certain hospital wards where they do a good job in making sure tests and procedures are organised, done and reported on .

I thought here were loads of GP vacancies and a big shortage of GPs. There'll be a reason this person can't get a job.

@Dryplate as posted several times above there are lots of GPs and no jobs being funded for them.

An accurate search of NHS jobs shows approximately 260 jobs nationwide, which is peanuts