Junior hospital doctors outside the Conservative conference, Manchester, 2023. Photo Workers.
In 2023, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan set a goal of doubling the number of medical school places to 15,000 by 2031-32. Labour in opposition supported the goal and, of course, claimed in the run-up to the 2024 general election to be the party to defend the NHS.
But it is preparing a new NHS ten year workforce plan that will quietly aim for a smaller number of students. And unlike with some of its U-turns, the government is keeping quiet about this one.
An article in the British Medical Journal has uncovered the real state of affairs. It reports that the number of students admitted in 2025-26 and for 2026-27 is far below the planned trajectory for the increase in the NHS plan. When put on the spot by the BMJ, the Department of Health and Social Care refused to commit to the goal of 15 000.
The number of actual funded student places this year is the same as last year. Medical schools were given exemptions to take an extra 670 international students, creating an illusion of an increase in NHS student numbers.
• A longer version of this article is on the web at www.cpbml.org.uk