Major exansion in doctor and dentist training

In my humble opinion this very welcome announcement is the most important thing the government has done this year. It will eventually - when it works through from training to doctor numbers, which will of course take a number of years - be the most important thing they could have done to protect the long-term sustainbility of Cumbria's hospitals.

Delighted to see that today they have announced an expansion to the number of places on medical and dentistry courses across England, giving more young people than ever before the opportunity to become doctors and dentists as we level up education.    

For decades governments of all parties allowed a situation where we were not training enough doctors or dentists. The result has been chronic shortages of doctors and dentists even after raiding other countries for many of their brightest people to work in the NHS

The only minister of either party to do anything about it until today was Jeremy Hunt who announced a 25% increase in training places in 2016.

Today a further increase was announced. The statement from government reads as follows.

• "Medicine and dentistry courses have always been popular, but this year have seen a 20 per cent rise in applications, meaning many well-qualified candidates may otherwise miss out on the opportunity to become a doctor or dentist.
   
• That is why we have provided additional funding to expand medicine and dentistry courses for the coming academic year, supporting universities to take on over 9,000 places in 2021–22 – more than ever before. 
   
• Expanding the number of places ensures that every student who achieves their grades can fulfil their potential of becoming a future healthcare leader, creating opportunity and boosting our future NHS workforce."