§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement outlining the present 319W policy on the limitation and selection of general practitioner trainees in Northern Ireland, the reasons for this policy and the number involved.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe policy of the Department of Health and Social Services is to match the number of doctors entering vocational training programmes with the estimated number of future general practice principal vacancies in Northern Ireland. The aim is to achieve a balance between the supply of and demand for general practitioners. The present intake to vocational training is 50 per annum.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement outlining how the vocational training regulations, and the selection of general practitioner trainees, in Northern Ireland differ from those arrangements which obtain in Great Britain.
§ Mr. Chris PattenThe vocational training regulations in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales are similar and set out the medical experience which is required for a doctor in general practice to provide general medical services.
In Northern Ireland the intake to vocational training programmes is designed to match the estimated number of future general practitioner principal vacancies. The selection procedure is contained in departmental circulars, copies of which are available in the Library. In Great Britain the number of trainees accepted for vocational training is determined by the number of approved general practitioner training practices; trainees are selected by individual general practitioner trainers.
§ Mr. Humeasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give consideration to amending implementation of the vocational training regulations in line with the proposed European Economic Community directive on vocational training which has been accepted and approved by the General Medical Services Committee, United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Chris PattenIf the proposed directive is adopted by the Council of Ministers in the Community it will be necessary to amend the Medical Practitioner (Vocational Training) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1979 to make provision for immigrant doctors who have completed at least two years vocational training in other member states of the Community to enter general practice in Northern Ireland. It may also be necessary to amend the regulations to make vocational training mandatory for deputies, assistants and locums in general practice.