our data about doctors with a european primary medical ... · our data about doctors with a...
TRANSCRIPT
Our data about doctors with a European primary medical qualification in 2018Working paper 8 - October 2018
Our data about doctors with a European primary medical qualification in 2018
As we edge closer to the date that Britain will leave the European Union (EU), we’ve been
receiving large numbers of requests for data on the European medical workforce in the
UK. We’ve produced this report to make our data in this area as useful as possible to
those who want to understand more about the makeup of this workforce. It is an update
to two previous papers on the same topic1,2 and summarises our latest data on doctors
who gained their primary medical qualification (PMQ) in the European Economic Area
(EEA) and who have a licence to practise medicine in the UK.
In this paper we give updated data on the location, area of practice, and years of
experience of EEA graduate doctors, and we highlight sections of the profession that have
more EEA qualified doctors. We also present data on the profile of EEA graduates in each
country of the UK, and look at how many EEA graduates are joining and leaving UK
medical practice.
Data are not directly comparable with the 2015 paper as we moved to using June 30 as
the annual sample point for the number of doctors in a given year after that report was
written. This change allowed us to report on data within the same calendar year rather
than only presenting historical data. Figures are, however, highly consistent with the 2017
publication.
1 Our data about doctors with a European primary medical qualification in 2017, https://www.gmc-uk.org/-
/media/documents/gmc-data-about-doctors-with-eea-pmq--november-2017--final_pdf-72545961_pdf-74307617.pdf
2 Our data about doctors with a European primary medical qualification (2015), https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-
we-do-and-why/data-and-research/research-and-insight-archive/our-data-about-doctors-with-a-european-primary-
medical-qualification---part-one.
2
Why do we report primary medical qualification? The data we hold by country of PMQ are completely accurate. A significant number of
doctors qualify from a medical school in a country of which they are not a citizen, so their
primary medical qualification is not a reliable proxy for their nationality.
Although we collect data on doctors’ nationalities when they join the register, these data
are not subsequently updated. In addition, we only have partial data on those who joined
the register before 2004. Finally, we would not know if a doctor has an entitlement to a
different nationality, other than the one they declared when they registered with us, which
he or she has not yet claimed.
What do we mean by EEA doctors? For the purposes of this analysis, we have defined EEA doctors as those who gained their
PMQ from a medical school in the EEA or Switzerland but not the UK.
It’s important to note that the EEA is not the same thing as the European Union. To put it
simply, the EEA includes all of the EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
which are in the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Although Switzerland is not a member
of the EEA, it is a member of single market agreements and Swiss nationals have the
same right to live and work in the UK as other EEA nationals.
Figure 1: How we define the EEA
UK
Non EEA
EEA (excluding UK)
3
The changing picture
Doctors with a licence to practise
In this paper, we focus on doctors with a licence to practise. To practise medicine in the
UK, doctors must be licensed with us – but not all licensed doctors are actually practising
in the UK.
Figure 2: The number of licensed and registered EEA graduates on the UK medical
register as at June 30 each year
Since June 2014, EEA graduates must now show proof of their English language capability
before they gain a licence to practise. This may help to explain why the number of
registered EEA graduates has increased over time, yet the number of licensed doctors has
decreased (Figure 2). It is important to note that there has been a consistent number of
licensed EEA PMQ doctors since 2016 (that is, there has not, to date, been a reduction in
the number of EEA doctors holding a UK license to practise following the June 2016
referendum).
Table 1: The proportion of licensed doctors in the UK to hold an EEA PMQ
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Licensed EEA graduates 22,967 23,717 23,792 22,873 21,539 21,609 21,791
All licensed doctors 232,250 234,675 233,498 232,330 232,192 236,732 242,433
% of all licensed doctors who are EEA graduates
9.9% 10.1% 10.2% 9.8% 9.3% 9.1% 9.0%
% of GPs who are EEA graduates 5.9% 5.8% 5.7% 5.5% 5.2% 5.2% 5.1%
% of specialists who are EEA graduates
14.8% 15.2% 15.3% 15% 14.4% 14.3% 14.0%
% of doctors on neither register and in training who are EEA
graduates
3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 3.5% 3.6% 3.7% 3.9%
% of doctors on neither register and not in training who are EEA
graduates
15.3% 15.9% 16.1% 15.5% 13.9% 13.1% 12.2%
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Registered EEA
Licensed EEA
4
Whilst the total number of EEA graduates has remained consistent over the past three
years, Table 1 shows the percentage of each register group that are EEA doctors has
fallen slightly for each group except doctors in training.
Joiners and leavers from the EEA Here, a doctor counts as joining the profession where they have a licence to practise in
that year but did not have one the previous year. A doctor leaving the profession is one
who was licensed, but has not held a licence for at least one year – in this way, we do not
count doctors who leave for short periods of time and re-join the profession the next year
as a leaver. We don’t have 2018 data for EEA graduates leaving the register or
relinquishing their licence, as we count them here as leaving only if they’ve left for a full
year.
From 2012 to 2014, the number of EEA graduates joining the profession increased. In the
year following the introduction of English language requirements in 2014, the number of
new joiners to the register dropped markedly. Since then fewer doctors than in 2012 have
joined each year. Between 2012 and 2016, the number of EEA graduates leaving almost
doubled but 2017 saw this trend reverse with a 39% reduction in EEA licensed doctors
leaving.
Figure 3: EEA graduates joining (gaining a licence for the first time) or leaving
(relinquishing a licence to practise for at least one year)
Figure 4 shows EEA doctors that relinquish a license to practise for at least one year, split
by register type. 2017 saw a considerable decline in EEA doctors choosing to leave across
all register types in 2017. From 2016 to 2017, there was a decline of 36% in EEA doctors
leaving the GP and specialist registers. There was a slightly steeper decline of EEA doctors
leaving from neither register (who were not in training) at 41%.
3,037 3,213 3,397
2,398 2,048 2,057 2,021
1,997
2,522
3,321 3,252 3,552
2,182
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Joiners
Leavers
5
Figure 4: EEA Doctors leaving (relinquishing a licence to practise for at least one year),
by register group
*For presentational purposes, the small number of doctors on both the GP and specialist register have been omitted
from the charts above. Doctors in training are discussed in a later section of this report.
EEA doctors can join the GP or specialist registers via a number of routes. For instance,
there are EEA doctors that only move to the GP or specialist registers after a period of
work in the UK on neither the GP nor specialist registers. This means that looking into
their register type at the point they join the UK workforce cannot give a fair indication of
the volumes joining who become either GPs or specialists.
However, we do have data showing how many EEA PMQ doctors join the GP register or
the specialist register for the first time, though doctors can join both the GP and specialist
registers at different points in time. Figure 5 shows there is a clear decline from 2014 to
2017 among EEA qualified doctors joining the specialist register for the first time.
Figure 5: EEA doctors joining the GP register or specialist register for the first time by any
route
*Please note doctors may first enter onto one register and then later join the other.
217 254 298 303 260 167
1,019
1,176
1,486
1,421
1,623
950
745
1,033
1,459
1,471 1,608
1,024
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
GP register Neither register and not in training Specialist register
215 264 261 164 197 181
1,484 1,658
1,814
1,292 1,299
1,070
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
GP register Specialist register
6
The plateau of licensed EEA doctors since 2016 (Figure 2) suggests the decline in EEA
doctors joining the specialist register may be counter-balanced by an increase in those
joining and remaining on neither register, whether in training or not. However, the types
of work undertaken by these groups of doctors are wholly different and the decrease in
specialist EEA doctors joining may be a concern.
Of the EEA doctors joining each register shown in Figure 5, a large proportion do so via
the automatic recognition of their professional qualifications (Figure 6). This is important
to understand as this group would be particularly affected by changes to automatic
recognition of professional qualification following Brexit.
Figure 6: EEA Doctors joining the GP and/or specialist registers via the automatic
recognition of professional qualification route only*
*Please note a small number of doctors may first enter onto one register and then later join the other. They are
counted as ‘Both GP and Specialist register’ if they joined both registers at the point of joining.
1,442
1,669
1,830
1,208
1,241
1,002
145 166 194 87 121 96
15 21 8 11 13 12
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Specialist register GP register Specialist and GP register
7
EEA graduates in each UK country in 2017 We have allocated doctors to a country based on a combination of their workplace
address, training records, the organisation they are linked to for revalidation and, where
these are not available, their correspondence address. 97% of all doctors and 89% of EEA
doctors could be allocated to a country in this way.
Figure 7: Characteristics of licensed EEA graduates by UK country in 2018
*This includes 1,358 doctors who are linked to a UK designated body for revalidation but who could not be linked to a
specific region. The remaining 1,055 doctors may not have given a valid postcode for their address, or did not have a UK
address or a designated body in the UK for revalidation, and their correspondence address was not in the UK.
† 385 out of 544 EEA graduates in Northern Ireland gained their primary medical qualification in the Republic of Ireland
– 71%.
EEA graduates in Scotland
Number – 1,174
% of Scotland’s doctors – 5.8%
% Male – 55.1%
% BME – 6.5%
Average age – 44.8
Average UK experience – 13.2 years
EEA graduates in England
Number – 17,004
% of England’s doctors – 8.5%
% Male – 52.5%
% BME – 13.9%
Average age – 43.2
Average UK experience – 11.4 years
EEA graduates in Wales
Number – 656
% of Wales’ doctors – 6.5%
% Male – 56.6%
% BME – 12.7%
Average age – 45.9
Average experience in the UK – 14.1 years
EEA graduates in other locations or not located*
Number – 2,413
% of other/not located doctors – 39.7%
% Male – 62.9%
% BME – 6.6%
Average age – 42.5
Average experience in the UK – 5.9 years
EEA graduates in Northern Ireland†
Number – 544
% of Northern Ireland’s doctors – 8.7%
% Male – 56.4%
% BME – 4.0%
Average age – 47.5
Average UK experience – 18.3 years
8
Regional breakdown of the EEA We define Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Baltic countries, North-western Europe and
Southern Europe as groupings of the following countries:
Figure 8: A regional breakdown of the EEA
Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Baltic countries: Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
North-western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland,
Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Southern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
Where in the EEA did our doctors qualify?
Between 2014 and 2016, the number of licensed EEA graduates from each region of the
EEA declined. Since then, the number of licensed EEA graduates from the Central Europe,
Eastern Europe and Baltic countries group has increased from 2016 to the point where
there are now more of these doctors than those from North-western Europe for the first
time.
The peak in Southern European graduates happened in 2014, at the same time as the
introduction of new English language requirements for all doctors coming to practise in the
UK. Since then, this group has at a broadly consistent figure, as has the North-western
Europe group.
UK
North-western Europe
Central Europe, Eastern Europe
and Baltic Countries
Southern Europe
Non EEA
9
Figure 9: Number of licensed doctors on the medical register from each European region
EEA graduates by country of qualification and area of practice
As in 2017, Ireland remains the most common PMQ country for EEA graduates whilst the
least common is Norway (Table 2). There are over 10,000 licensed doctors on the
Specialist Register (only) that are EEA graduates, over half (5,467) of whom graduated
from just four countries – Ireland, Greece, Italy and Germany.
EFTA Doctors Doctors from the EFTA countries may be subject to a unique policy context once the UK
has left the EU. However, it is important to note that EFTA doctors are a very small part of
the UK workforce. On June 30th 2018, there were 153 such doctors (0.06% of all licensed
doctors). Table 2 showed 75% (114) of the EFTA doctors received their PMQ from
Switzerland, whilst 14 % (22) qualified in Iceland and 11% (17) in Norway.
We found that 77% (118) of the 153 EFTA doctors licensed in 2018 were based in
England and that 5% (8) worked in Scotland. There were no licensed EFTA doctors
working in Wales or Northern Ireland in 2018. Just over half of the EFTA doctors were on
the specialist register and a little over a third were on neither the GP or specialist register
and were not in training. The remaining 19 doctors were split between those in training
and those on the GP register.
6,142
7,030
7,974
8,544 8,345
7,588 7,530 7,522
9,121 9,011
8,681
8,153 7,625
7,227 7,205 7,131
6,614 6,926
7,062 7,095 6,903
6,724 6,874
7,138
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Southern Europe
North-western Europe
Central Europe, Eastern Europe,Baltic countries
10
Table 2: Licensed doctors from each EEA country by register type in 2018
Rank PMQ Country Licensed Doctors
Register type
GP (only)
Specialist (only)
GP and specialist
Neither and not in
training
Neither and in
training
1
Ireland 3,210 747 1,442 16 605 400
2
Greece 2,444 46 1,560 2 546 290
3
Romania 2,178 226 752 10 971 219
4
Italy 2,162 105 1,416 13 505 123
5
Germany 2,028 547 1,049 28 320 84
6
Poland 1,776 215 749 21 451 340
7
Spain 1,244 301 680 30 206 27
8 Czech
Republic 1,170 195 342 4 396 233
9
Hungary 1,062 64 626 14 276 82
10
Bulgaria 738 51 346 4 300 37
11
Netherlands 697 191 267 1 190 48
12
Malta 438 10 163 0 99 166
13
Slovakia 355 20 161 1 126 47
14
France 339 99 173 8 53 6
15
Lithuania 335 41 157 3 101 33
16
Portugal 259 25 115 0 81 38
17
Belgium 252 52 113 2 78 7
18
Latvia 217 21 73 1 78 44
19
Austria 198 51 63 12 48 24
20
Croatia 190 11 99 0 59 21
21
Sweden 117 11 75 2 23 6
22
Switzerland* 114 3 60 3 45 3
23
Denmark 92 18 44 2 18 10
24
Slovenia 47 3 22 0 15 7
25
Estonia 45 7 31 0 3 4
26
Finland 45 10 22 2 9 2
27
Iceland* 22 1 11 0 6 4
28
Norway* 17 4 7 0 5 1
Total 21,791 3,075 10,618 179 5,613 2,306
*EFTA country or Switzerland. There are currently no licensed doctors with a Liechtenstein PMQ. Please also note that
there were no licensed doctors working in England in 2018 that had a PMQ from two EEA countries, Cyprus and
Luxembourg.
11
Areas of practice of EEA graduates
Figure 10 shows the division of doctors among the register types with a black line at 9%
to reflect the proportion of EEA graduates across all register types. From this we can see
the GP and doctors in training areas of practice are comparatively underrepresented whilst
the Specialist, GP and Specialist and Neither (not in training) registers are
overrepresented.
Figure 10: All licensed EEA graduate doctors by register type, showing % of each register
type that are EEA graduates in 2018
Figure 11 shows that certain specialities have greater proportions of EEA graduates than
others. The red line denotes the average across all specialties (14%) whilst the black line
is the average across all registers (9% also shown in Figure 10).
Almost a quarter of all ophthalmology specialists are EEA graduates and most specialities
have a greater proportion of EEA graduates than the average across all registers. Only the
emergency medicine and public health specialties bucked that trend with emergency
medicine having only one in fifteen (6.7%) holding an EEA PMQ. In short, the acute sector
of the NHS is particularly reliant on EEA doctors and they make up 14% of hospital
consultants. But certain specialties such as ophthalmology (24%) and surgery (18%) are
even more reliant on this group.
14.5%
14.0%
12.2%
5.1%
3.9%
9%
GP and specialist
Specialist
Neither and not in training
GP
Neither and in training
12
Figure 11: Percentage of each specialty group that were EEA graduates in 2018
Four country data on EEA graduates by area of practice Our data shows that EEA graduate specialists are overrepresented across all four UK
countries when compared to the average proportion that are EEA qualified across all
registers (9%). GPs are generally underrepresented by EEA graduates in all UK countries
except for Northern Ireland, where 9.9% (170) of GPs are EEA graduates with 86.5%
(147) of those having qualified in Ireland. Scotland, Wales and England have relatively low
reliance on EEA GPs with 3.7% to 4.9% of their GPs qualified in the EEA (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Number and proportion of licensed EEA graduates by UK country, by register
type* in 2018
6.7%
8.6%
11.1%
11.9%
12.4%
12.8%
12.9%
13.8%
13.9%
13.9%
18.4%
24.4%
25.3%
14% 9%
Emergency Medicine
Public Health
Occupational medicine
Psychiatry
Anaesthetics and Intensive Care…
Medicine
Paediatrics
Radiology
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Pathology
Surgery
Ophthalmology
Other or multiple speciality groups
EEA graduates in Scotland
GP only – 218 (3.7%) Specialist only – 572 (9.1%)
Neither and not in training – 193 (7.9%) Neither and in training – 174 (3.2%)
EEA graduates in England
GP only – 2,463 (4.9%)
Specialist only – 8,293 (13.3%) Neither and not in training – 4,136 (11.2%)
Neither and in training – 1,970 (4.0%)
EEA graduates in Northern Ireland†
GP only – 170 (9.9%)
Specialist only – 216 (11.4%) Neither and not in training – 75 (8.3%) Neither and in training – 76 (4.4%)
13
*This graphic excludes doctors who are on both the GP and Specialist Registers. The data presented show, for example,
there are 50,805 doctors who are on the GP register only in England in total and of those, 2,463 were EEA graduates.
Therefore, the percentage of GPs in England that are EEA graduates is 4.9%.
†385 of 544 (71%) EEA graduates in Northern Ireland gained their PMQ in the Republic of Ireland.
The differences between the four countries
As previously reported, there are a similar proportion of EEA graduates in each broad area
of practice in Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has the greatest proportion of EEA
graduates who are GPs. England has the most EEA graduates who are specialists or on
neither register and not in training. It is difficult to make comparisons about the numbers
of doctors within each speciality group in the four countries of the UK due to the small
numbers of EEA graduates involved but Table 3 has been included to show this.
EEA graduates in Wales
GP only – 99 (4.0%) Specialist only – 342 (10.7%)
Neither and not in training – 139 (7.0%) Neither and in training – 72 (3.0%)
EEA graduates in other locations or not located
GP only – 125 (32.7%) Specialist only – 1,195 (64.1%)
Neither and not in training – 1,070 (28.9%) Neither and in training – 4 (0.1%)
14
Table 3: EEA graduates in the four UK countries and those with an unknown location by
area of practice
Northern Ireland Scotland England
EEA
doctors
% of all
that are EEA
EEA
doctors
% of all
that are EEA
EEA
doctors
% of all
that are EEA
GP 177 10% 225 4% 2,605 5%
Specialist 223 12% 579 9% 8,435 13%
Medicine 39 8% 117 7% 2,135 13%
Emergency medicine 7 9% 13 5% 122 7%
Anaesthetics and intensive care medicine
27 10% 77 15% 1,003 12%
Obstetrics and gynaecology 18 15% 20 6% 413 13%
Occupational medicine 1 6% 4 6% 38 8%
Ophthalmology 7 17% 15 10% 418 22%
Paediatrics 18 15% 38 10% 627 13%
Pathology 7 9% 38 13% 318 13%
Psychiatry 19 9% 49 7% 829 12%
Public Health 7 21% 6 5% 49 6%
Radiology 25 14% 51 11% 521 11%
Surgery 47 16% 149 13% 1,931 17%
Other or multiple specialities 1 33% 2 33% 31 23%
Neither and not in training 75 8% 193 8% 4,136 11%
Neither and in training 76 4% 184 3% 1,970 4%
Wales Other
EEA
doctors
% of all that
are EEA
EEA
doctors
% of all that
are EEA
GP 103 4% 144 35%
Specialist 346 11% 1,214 64%
Medicine 61 7% 228 56%
Emergency medicine 2 2% 10 34%
Anaesthetics and intensive care medicine
75 14% 110 63%
Obstetrics and gynaecology 24 14% 73 72%
Occupational medicine 0 0% 9 41%
Ophthalmology 10 13% 110 80%
Paediatrics 27 11% 47 45%
Pathology 11 9% 39 53%
Psychiatry 29 9% 46 38%
Public Health 8 16% 8 27%
Radiology 22 9% 185 69%
Surgery 76 13% 345 81%
Other or multiple specialities 1 17% 4 100%
Neither and not in training 139 7% 144 4%
Neither and in training 72 3% 4 4%
15
To present a complete picture, Table 3 includes doctors who are on both the GP and
specialist registers and so will not match Figure 12. There is a relatively high proportion of
EEA licensed graduates who have a location outside the four countries of the UK or who
we cannot locate (11%). Given that there are 2,413 licensed doctors in this group, it is
highly likely that these numbers of located doctors are underestimates.
EEA doctors in training Our data shows that there were 2,306 EEA doctors in training in 2018. Table 4 breaks this
population down by training stage, showing that EEA doctors are a small minority at each
stage. This trend is consistent across all years since 2012 although the percentage of CT3
trainees that held an EEA PMQ in 2018 was abnormally low.
Table 4: Numbers of EEA doctors at each stage of training in 2018 along with the
percentage of each stage that were EEA doctors
Training Stage EEA doctors % EEA
F1 193 2.6%
F2 210 2.8%
CT1 164 4.7%
CT2 145 4.1%
CT3 41 4.9%
ST1 221 4.4%
ST2 207 3.9%
ST3 337 4.1%
ST4 250 4.9%
ST5 227 4.3%
ST6 175 4.1%
ST7 104 3.9%
ST8 32 4.2%
It is also important to consider the areas in which EEA doctors are training. Whilst the
greatest percentage shown in Table 5 was in occupational medicine, there were only 31
trainees in this area in total in 2018 and so this percentage should be treated with caution.
Psychiatry had the second largest proportion EEA doctors whilst General Practice
accounted for the largest number of EEA trainees.
16
Table 5: EEA doctors in each area of training in 2018 and the percentage of that area
that were EEA doctors
Area of Training EEAs in 2018 %EEA
Foundation 403 2.7%
Core Elements of Specialty Training 350 4.5%
Anaesthetics 53 2%
Emergency medicine 58 3.8%
General Practice 407 3.7%
Intensive care medicine 8 3.4%
Medicine 306 4.6%
Obstetrics and Gynaecology 103 4.8%
Occupational Medicine 6 19.4%
Ophthalmology 27 4.1%
Paediatrics and Child Health 204 5.5%
Pathology 35 5.1%
Psychiatry 86 7.1%
Public Health 2 1.1%
Radiology 72 4.1%
Sexual and reproductive health 0 0%
Surgery 186 4.5%
Years of UK experience Experience is defined here as the number of years that a doctor has had a UK licence to
practise (for those joining before 2009, we use the date they joined the medical register).
About a third of (31%) of EEA graduates located in the UK have 0 to 5 years of experience
of working here; over half (55%) have fewer than ten years of experience.
Northern Ireland has a comparatively even distribution of doctors across all experience
levels, and has a higher proportion of EEA graduates who have over ten years of
experience than any other country of the UK. This is likely to be a result of doctors who
qualified in the Republic of Ireland practising in Northern Ireland.
In locating doctors, we use a combination of data about where they are practising. We
couldn’t assign a UK location to 11% of EEA doctors – these doctors may be overseas, or
may not have given a valid UK postcode. 57% of these doctors have between 0 and 5
years of UK experience.
17
Figure 13: Years of UK experience of EEA graduates in each UK country in 2018
Limitations of our analysis
This paper has looked at doctors with a primary medical qualification in the EEA, but this
does not mean these doctors are EEA nationals. We only have partial data on the
nationality of doctors at the time of their registration.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%England
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%Scotland
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%NI
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%Wales
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%Other
18
Conclusion 9% of all licensed doctors in 2018 were EEA graduates but this figure was 14% for
hospital consultants and was higher still for some specialties. The number of licensed EEA
graduates has remained fairly constant over the last three years and we have data to
show that fewer EEA graduates left the register last year than in any year since 2012.
The mix of doctors joining our registers from the EEA has changed in recent years. 2018
saw the number of graduates from Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic countries
exceed those from North-western Europe for the first time. We have seen a marked
decline in EEA doctors joining our specialist register since 2014 which is a concern because
of the large proportion of certain specialties that are currently EEA doctors. However, 2017
did show the number of EEA specialists leaving fell by over a third compared to 2016.
When the four countries were compared, Northern Ireland had the largest percentage of
its workforce holding an EEA PMQ, with 71% of those graduating in the Republic of
Ireland. Also, Northern Ireland’s EEA graduates had the greatest average age and average
years of UK experience among the four countries, underlining the particular importance of
EEA doctors to the medical workforce in Northern Ireland.
EEA doctors and leaving the European Union This report shows that the number of EEA qualified doctors licensed to practise in the UK
has remained fairly constant since the June 2016 referendum. Similarly, the number of
doctors joining the register from the EEA has been relatively steady over the last two
years despite continuing uncertainty about whether current registration arrangements for
EEA doctors (which are based on the principle of mutual recognition by member states of
each other’s qualifications and enables registration to be granted very quickly) will
continue after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. The status of doctors already
registered in the UK is guaranteed. While it’s clear that EEA doctors currently see the UK
as an attractive place to work, this could change rapidly depending on the outcome of the
negotiations to leave the European Union. In turn, the UK’s medical workforce could be
significantly impacted. Anecdotal evidence from our own frontline engagement, and
insight from other organisations such as the British Medical Association and regulators
from other European countries, suggests that EEA doctors are growing increasingly
nervous about the post-Brexit landscape.
As the UK medical regulator we are doing all that we can to prepare for the various
scenarios that we may face in March 2019, while we await the outcome of the
negotiations and confirmation from Government on how EEA qualified doctors will be able
to join the UK medical register.
What is clear is that the UK continues to value this important cohort of EEA qualified
doctors and must work to ensure that the current uncertainty does not deter them from
coming to the UK and contributing to our NHS.
Email: [email protected]: www.gmc-uk.orgTelephone: 0161 923 6602General Medical Council, 3 Hardman Street, Manchester M3 3AW
Textphone: please dial the prefix 18001 then 0161 923 6602 to use the Text Relay service
Join the conversation @gmcuk facebook.com/gmcuk
linkd.in/gmcuk youtube.com/gmcuktv
This information can be made available in alternative formatsor languages. To request an alternative format, please call us on 0161 923 6602 or email us at [email protected].
Published October 2018
© 2018 General Medical Council
The text of this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format
or medium providing it is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context.
The material must be acknowledged as GMC copyright and the document
title specified.
The GMC is a charity registered in England and Wales (1089278)
and Scotland (SC037750)
Code: GMC/DADEPMQ/1018