Still no equal access to medicine

15 January 2010

EFFORTS to open up the medical profession to people from poorer backgrounds have failed despite years of investment, a new report claims.

Just over 15 per cent of people entering medicine in the UK are from the four lowest socioeconomic groups – which make up just under half the population. That’s an increase of only 1.7 per cent over five years, according to figures from the BMA.

The report claims ministers are failing in their efforts to make medicine an accessible career option for people from poorer backgrounds following analysis of the UK’s 40,000 medical students. Most medical students still come from professional and managerial backgrounds and an important factor in the under-representation of other socioeconomic groups seems to be low rates of application.

The BMA blames a number of factors including a lower acceptance rate and financial constraints. The report claims there is still no real evidence that attempts by ministers to encourage students from low-income families have worked.

The percentage of medical students from poorer backgrounds has gone up from 13.6 per cent in 2003 to 15.3 per cent in 2008. But that’s despite the fact that, since 2001, £392million has been invested in schemes designed to widen access across the higher education system.

Bhupinder Sandhu, chairwoman of the BMA’s equal opportunity committee said, “Medical schools are still not recruiting enough students from low income backgrounds. There is evidence of a drastic gap in acceptance rates: 58 per cent of applicants from the top socioeconomic group obtained a place at medical school, but only 39 per cent of applicants from the lowest group were successful. The intensive five year medical degree is becoming progressively more expensive, with average estimated debt set to reach £37,000. This high cost presents a significant challenge to middle and low income families.”