BREAKING: Health Education England is planning a back to work scheme for GPs to help them return to the NHS.
Speaking at the NHS Confederation conference in Liverpool today, HEE’s director of strategy and planning Jo Lenaghan said the organisation was working with the Royal College of General Practitioners to try and come up with a scheme.
Ms Lenaghan told HSJ: “We are working with [RCGP chair] Maureen Baker and the [RCGP] to explore a return to practice scheme for GPs drawing on the lessons from nurses.
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“We have a lot of trained female GPs who for a number of reasons have left the workplace, and we have to consider how we reach out to those people and retrain them and encourage them to come back.”
She stressed the project was in the early stages and that there were no firm proposals.
Within its government mandate, HEE has a target to attract 50 per cent of medical students into general practice.
This is the second time HEE has stepped outside its official remit to tackle existing staff shortages after it announced plans to help boost nursing places in the NHS.
Under the Health and Social Care Act, HEE is not responsible for the existing workforce but the body, which has a £5bn budget for education and training, has recognised it has a “leadership role” to play.
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