Written question WQ93053
- Asked by
- Janet Finch-SaundersConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 7 days
Question
Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what the Welsh Government is doing to mitigate the almost third of medical students that leave the NHS within two years of graduating?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Following completion of foundation training, withdrawal rates in Wales are extremely low (less than 1%). Some graduates choose to undertake their foundation training in the other home nations however this is matched by graduates from other parts of the UK choosing to undertake their foundation training in Wales.
After completing foundation training many doctors choose not to apply for the next stages of training. This is mirrored across the UK and represents a natural break point that arises after the foundation phase in training. However, the majority of these doctors will continue to work as locally employed doctors (non-training grades) within the NHS so do not leave the NHS.
A proportion take the opportunity to widen their personal and professional experience and work abroad in countries like Australia and New Zealand. GMC data confirms that approximately 90% of those junior doctors who leave the UK to work abroad return to training and are working in the NHS within a few years.
Although these data are reassuring, we recognise the need for and importance of continuing to work to improve the experience and work-life balance of doctors in training in Wales.