Potential for GP numbers boost as medical schools improve uptake in deprived areas

The number of UK medical school students from the most deprived areas has more than doubled over the past decade, with potential positive impact on GP numbers down the line, a report has said.

The Medical Schools Council (MSC) has laid out progress against recommendations made 10 years ago to widen participation in medicine. Medical schools have since made ‘significant investments’ to this end, with ‘crucial funding’ from UK governments, the report found.

It revealed that the proportion of medical school entrants from the most deprived areas has increased from 6% to 14%, and the proportion from non-selective state schools has risen from 47% to 54%.

However, the report also noted that acceptance rates to medical school for applicants from the most deprived areas remain lower than those from wealthier areas.

The MSC set a goal to increase the proportion of students from the most disadvantaged areas by 2% over the next decade, noting that the Government’s plans to double medical school places by 2031 can ‘further accelerate’ this.

‘Achieving this target, in combination with the planned increase in medical school places, would lead to a substantial rise in the number of entrants from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping to build a more equitable and diverse medical workforce,’ the council said. 

There was also the suggestion that widening participation at medical school level ‘can benefit efforts to increase the numbers of GPs’ and address geographical variation. 

The report pointed to a study on specialty training from 2019 which found that doctors whose parents did not attend higher education and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to choose careers in general practice compared to other specialties. 

Its authors suggested that increasing the number of students from these backgrounds ‘could help general practice recruitment’.

But the MSC stressed that every medical student ‘should have the same opportunities to succeed and the freedom to pick the specialty and geographical location to work in’. 

Despite progress, the report also highlighted that one third of secondary schools still do not produce any applicants to medical school, and around half have had no successful entrants. 

It said schools with high proportions of students eligible for free school meals ‘still face barriers in producing medical school applicants’ and ‘need further support’.

MSC chair Professor Patrick Maxwell said medical schools are ‘deeply committed’ to creating a more inclusive profession, and the outcomes so far are ‘encouraging’. 

He continued: ‘With the government’s commitment to increasing medical school places, we are in a unique position to further accelerate these advancements, shaping a workforce that truly reflects the communities it serves.’

Dr Paul Garrud, chair of the MSC Selection Alliance, said the selection processes for medical schools ‘have evolved a great deal since 2014’ and schools have built more ‘equitable’ systems which take account of an applicant’s ‘background and potential’ as well as their academic achievement. 

‘Through the use of contextual admissions, targeted outreach, and alternative entry routes, we are opening doors for a more diverse range of talented individuals to become doctors,’ he added.

The GMC’s report on the medical workforce for 2024 found that the UK now has more doctors from ethnic minority backgrounds than white doctors.

Recent research by the RCGP highlighted problems around the number of GPs in deprived areas, revealing that GPs in these areas care for almost 2,500 patients per head, which is over 300 more than those in more affluent areas.

An investigation by Pulse last year found that around one in three medical school students end up working in general practice.