There are too few doctors to treat the rising number of patients in the UK according to the General Medical Council (GMC) who say that the supply of medics is not keeping up with the demand.

The UK-it has been revealed-is heavily reliant on overseas staff which could prove tragically problematic in the wake of Brexit.

The GMC’s annual report highlights four key areas of concern:

·         Supply of new doctors in the UK has not kept up with demand.​A dependence on non-UK qualified doctors in some specialist areas.

·         The risk of some overseas doctors being put off working in the UK after Brexit.

·         An ongoing strain on doctors in training.

The statistics behind these concerns are worrying for the future of medical professions in the UK. The number of doctors on the medical register has risen by 2% since 2012, though the attendances to A&E have grown by 27% in England and 10% in Northern Ireland. The growth in the population of those aged 85 and over is predicted to increase from 1.6 million to 3.2 million by 2041. This age group are the most heavily reliant on the medical provision.

To dig further into the issue at hand, the GMC also state that there are specialist medical sectors and rural locations at more risk due to recruitment challenges. 43% of the licensed doctors in the East of England are non-UK graduates, 41% in the West Midlands and 38% in the East Midlands. The majority of the workforce in obstetrics and gynecology are non-UK Graduates. The impact of Brexit remains a huge area of concern, with 6,000 fewer non-UK graduates on the register in 2017 as there was in 2011. Surveys taken earlier this year suggest many European doctors currently working in the UK are considering leaving their positions in the wake of the UK leaving the European Union. The GMC has stressed that we must reduce the burden on doctors, provide better training and more flexible working conditions.

The Department of Health in England has stated there are a record number of doctors working in the NHS, which has grown by nearly 15,000 since 2010. They have also stated that the number of training positions is increasing by 25% in the coming years to meet the increasing strain on our medical provision. It is clear there is only one reasonable solution to this issue – we need more doctors, and we must retain the doctors currently working within the UK by ensuring they have an improved work-life balance.