Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they reconcile their obligations under the WHO and NHS Employers codes of practice, which discourage recruitment of doctors from countries with critical shortages of health workers, with reports that 54 per cent of newly-trained doctors in 2022 were recruited from such countries.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
International recruitment of doctors is guided by the Code of Practice for International Recruitment, which guarantees the most stringent ethical standards when recruiting health and social care staff from overseas. The code aligns with latest advice from the World Health Organization, ensuring that an individual's right to migrate is upheld. As such, individuals from these countries are able to apply for vacancies independently in the United Kingdom, and, if they do, they must be treated fairly and not be discriminated against based on their nationality.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the Professional and Linguistics Assessment Board examination (PLAB) as a test of competence for International Medical Graduates, given the conclusion of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published on 17 April 2014 that the pass mark of PLAB would need to be increased by 30 per cent to reach equivalence with UK graduates.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It sets and enforces the standards to which all doctors must adhere. The GMC is responsible for operational matters, including those relating to Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board tests, which it revised in 2016 following a review.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they give to doctor-patient ratios which are significantly below those in UK when recruiting international medical graduates from low-income countries outside the EU and EEA.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
International recruitment of medical graduates is guided by the ‘Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England’, available in an online-only format. The code aligns with the latest advice from the World Health Organisation, preventing active recruitment from countries with the most pressing health and social care workforce challenges, including those with low healthcare worker density.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many medical school places were available in England in each of the last 10 years; and how many applications were made on average per place.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of entrants to undergraduate medicine courses in England from 2012 to 2022.
Academic year | Entrants |
2012 | 6,190 |
2013 | 5,980 |
2014 | 6,000 |
2015 | 5,880 |
2016 | 5,930 |
2017 | 6,095 |
2018 | 6,800 |
2019 | 7,565 |
2020 | 8,405 |
2021 | 8,485 |
2022 | 7,630 |
Source: Office for Students Medical and Dental Students Survey (2012-2022)
Note: 2022 entrants are based on initial figures and are likely to change.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service records the number of unique applicants and acceptances to undergraduate medical courses. Based upon this data, there has been an average of 3.2 applicants for each accepted place from 2011 to 2021.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many doctors from overseas first registered in England in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of those doctors came from EU or EEA countries.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on the number of doctors from overseas who first registered in England in each of the last 10 years or what percentage of those doctors came from EU or EEA countries. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of all medical doctors practising in the UK, and all doctors must register with them and hold a licence to practise to work in the UK. The GMC maintains data on medical practitioners registered with them.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 14 July (HL1009), what reports the Department of Health has received in the last twelve months from the pharmaceutical industry about interruptions in the supply of drugs to United Kingdom pharmacies.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Reports from pharmaceutical companies about potential or impending medicines shortages are provided to the Department in confidence, as required by the joint Departmental/pharmaceutical industry guidance, Notification and management of medicines shortages. A copy of this document is attached. When advanced warning is received, we work with companies and others in the supply chain to explore the options for continued supply and many potential interruptions in the supply of medicines to United Kingdom pharmacies are avoided. When a shortage does occur, the Department expects companies to communicate with its customers and others as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of any United Kingdom pharmaceutical companies diverting the supply of drugs from the United Kingdom to overseas markets to take advantage of the strength of sterling.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government is aware of the parallel trade in medicines within the European Union, which is permitted under European legislation. The strong pound sterling makes it much less attractive for these traders to export from the United Kingdom to other member states and the export of medicines has therefore decreased in recent years.
Asked by: Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS England has recently received any reports of interruptions in the supply of drugs from United Kingdom pharmaceutical companies to United Kingdom pharmacies.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
In the United Kingdom, responsibility for the security of supply of medicines lies with the Department of Health, rather than NHS England. The Department receives reports from the pharmaceutical industry about issues which may potentially interrupt the supply of drugs that may affect United Kingdom pharmacies on a regular basis. We work closely with pharmaceutical companies, NHS England and clinicians in order to mitigate the impact of any shortages on patient care.