Rise in junior doctor numbers

19 April 2010

JUNIOR doctor numbers have increased by two-thirds in the past 10 years, new figures reveal.

The NHS Information Centre study showed the number of doctors in training in England grew by five per cent to 51,318 between 1999 and 2009. The Modernising Medical Careers programme – introduced in 2005 – sparked an increase in registrar group numbers while senior house officer numbers dropped.

MMC brought more expected grade changes in 2009 as registrar group numbers rose by almost six per cent to 36,994 – up from 35,042 in 2008. At the same time, SHOs fell by 66 per cent to just over 2000 since 2007.

In 2009, 36 per cent of hospital and community health service (HCHS) doctors were consultants and half were trainee doctors, compared to 33 per cent and 45 per cent respectively in 1999.

The NHS workforce census said the large increase in trainee doctor numbers in recent years is partly due to an increase in the number of people in this group who do not hold an educationally approved training post and cannot be separately identified

Associate specialist numbers have increased by almost nine per cent in the past 10 years to 3518. There are just over 3300 staff grades in England, a drop of 1.3 per cent over 10 years and a 44 per cent drop since 2008.

The figures also show women make up half of all trainee doctors. London has the largest proportion of staff across the majority of grades, including 20 per cent of consultants and 23 per cent of doctors in training and equivalents.

The census showed the NHS workforce in England has reached a record high of 1.43 million, up by 30 per cent since 1999. But the number of managers in the NHS has risen at double the rate of doctors and nurses during that time. The number of managers has risen by 84 per cent to 44,660. This is an average increase of 6.3 per cent per year.

In comparison the number of clinical staff has risen by a third in a decade with an average annual rise of just three per cent.