This year’s data shows:
- In 2023, the number of licensed doctors grew at the fastest rate recorded since 2011, when GMC reporting started. In 2023, there were 313,829 licensed doctors.
- The ethnic diversity of the UK workforce has increased substantially since 2016. There are now more doctors from ethnic minority groups than white doctors. This is linked to large numbers of ethnic minority non-UK graduates joining the workforce since 2016.
- Non-UK graduates now make up 41% of the workforce, up from 33% in 2017. Ethnic diversity has also been increasing among UK graduates.
- The workforce is close to reaching parity between male and female doctors, with 49% of licensed doctors in 2023 being female
RCPCH President, Professor Steve Turner, said:
The GMC’s report provides a crucial insight into the makeup and workings of the UK medical profession as a whole. This year’s data show an ever-changing and diverse workforce. It’s clear that even more care and attention must be placed on including, integrating and supporting international graduate doctors as they are welcomed into the NHS and progress in their careers. We must also protect and support our trainers. Clinical and educational supervisors in paediatrics are reporting unsustainably high workloads and demand is growing.
For the paediatric profession, the number of doctors in formal post-graduate training between 2019 – 23 has increased by 13%. This increase is welcome, but is comparatively lower than a number of other specialities and will fail to meet the ever-rising demand on child health services. The report also shows that over 15% of joiners to the paediatric specialist register between 2016-2018 left the profession within 5 years, which is a shocking loss to our specialty of much needed professionals.
The paediatric workforce continues to work under extreme pressures. Children are often waiting longer than adults to access healthcare, paediatric services have not recovered at the same rate as adult health services, and there is a growing gap between demand and capacity across child health services. If the Government is serious about creating the healthiest generation of children and young people ever across all four nations, they must immediately turn their attention to child health workforce planning, and consider increasing numbers, retaining current staff and supporting wellbeing