Rise in number of trainee GP places filled in Wales

Credit: Anthony Devlin/PA Archive/PA Images

91% of trainee GP places in Wales are filled compared to 75% last year.

The Welsh Government says it’s down to their Train, Work, Live campaign.

The campaign was launched last year in order to promote Wales as an ‘excellent place for doctors, including GPs, and their families, to train, work and live.’

In April, the Health Secretary announced the fill rate for GP training places at the end of round one was 84%, compared to 68% for the same point in 2016.

The rate has since increased again, to 91%, meaning 124 out of 136 posts are filled.

But there is still concern about retaining GPs in their jobs, with many nearing retirement and an increasing number of GP practices threatened with closure.

Credit: Anthony Devlin/PA Archive/PA Images

The new financial incentive scheme in targeted areas of Wales has resulted in 100% fill rates in a number of areas.

  • Ceredigion

  • North Wales West

  • Pembrokeshire

  • North Wales East

Trainees will begin their training in August 2017.

Round two, which aims to recruit GP trainees to take up post in February 2018, will open in August.

The Welsh Government and NHS Wales have launched another phase of the This is Wales: Train, Work, Live campaign, targeted at nurses in primary care, secondary care and the care home sector. In future, the campaign will target pharmacists and allied health professionals.