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GP conference

GP leaders gather in the North East to tackle ‘worrying’ GP shortages

Published on: 17 May 2018

Family doctors from around the North East have gathered in Newcastle to discuss the key challenges facing the profession.

GP leaders have gathered in Gosforth today (May 17) to discuss GP shortages and other problems facing general practice in the region, at an event organised by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the body that represents 52,000 family doctors across the UK.

There is currently a recruitment and retention crisis of GPs in the UK, and the Department of Health and Social Care has set a target of 50% of postgraduate medical training places to be allocated to General Practice.

Young GP examines child patient

New curriculum

The ‘GP Reimagined’ conference, at the Gosforth Marriott Hotel, has attracted eminent national speakers, including Dr Hugh Alberti, Subdean for Primary and Community Care at Newcastle University, who is speaking at the event to share ideas being developed at the University to address the shortage. 

He said: “We are in the process of developing a new curriculum for our medical students which gives the students twice as much high quality teaching by General Practitioners, as well as more integration between primary and secondary care."

The conference covers some of the most hard-hitting issues facing general practice, including addressing GP burnout and how to tackle the ‘pincer movement’ of GPs taking early retirement due to work pressures at the same time as insufficient numbers of medical students are choosing GP training.

Dr Lily Lamb, a practising GP in Northumberland, said: “We are now in a frightening situation where there are simply not enough GPs to care for patients.

“As all GPs know, being a GP can be the best job in the world when it is properly resourced. We want to encourage medical students to think of General Practice as a career and focus on supporting our trainees by sharing with them the huge potential of a career in General Practice.

“This event is really positive step towards encouraging GPs to work and remain in the North East and provides an opportunity to share ideas and innovation so we can improve the care we deliver to our patients.”

National speakers

The GP Reimagined conference is hosted by the RCGP North East England Faculty, with more than 100 GPs, GP trainees, those in their first five years of general practice, medical students, practice managers and practice nurses from across the region expected to attend.

Top speakers include RCGP President Professor Mayur Lakhani, discussing the future of general practice, and former RCGP Chair Professor Clare Gerada. 

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