§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the percentage of doctors still working in the NHS in each of the first 10 years after qualifying; and what were the figures for each of the last 10 years. [15770]
§ Mr. MaloneData are not available in the form requested.
Evidence on doctors leaving the profession prematurely is based in studies published in 1991 by Professor James Parkhouse. These studies suggest that about 20 per cent. of doctors are not practising in the national health service five years after qualification. The majority of these however, are not lost permanently to medicine. Many are working in short-term postings overseas, to develop their skills further, while others are working in United Kingdom medical work outside the NHS, or taking short career breaks. The Department has commissioned further cohort studies to provide up to date estimates of wastage from the medical profession.
A recent study by Isobel Allen containing more up-to-date information, based on a sample of 200 doctors qualifying in 1986, found that very few young doctors had left medicine altogether six years after qualification.