§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the proportion of (i) all and (ii) women medical graduates from medical schools who are practising medicine 10 years after qualification(a) full-time and (b) part-time. [52862]
§ Mr. MilburnStudies commissioned by the Department in respect of medical students who graduated in 1983 (the latest cohert for which data are currently available) show that, in 1993, the patterns of employment of those doctors working in the National Health Service were:
Percentage Women Total Full time employment 57.6 81.35 Part time employment 42.4 18.7
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to encourage women doctors back to work in(a) hospitals and (b) primary care. [52863]
§ Mr. MilburnThe increasing numbers of women in medical schools and at all levels within the medical profession is producing more demand for flexible working and training opportunities in the National Health Service, including facilities for taking a career break and then returning to practice. There is also a more general trend in the economy which is seeing a greater demand from both men and women for working arrangements which378W reflect domestic and family responsibilities; and we are committed to supporting working parents in balancing the demands of their work and home life.
A number of measures are already in place to make the NHS a more "family friendly" place for women doctors to work. The new arrangements for flexible training, which were introduced with the specialist registrar (SpR) grade, devolved the funding of flexible training to the postgraduate deans where it could be more responsive to local and specialty demands. The National Training Number (NTN) allows new entrant SpRs who want to train flexibly to have a place reserved for them so that they can take up training as quickly as possible without further competitive barriers. If a complete career break is needed, they have a "passport" back into training via their personal NTN which they hold throughout training. Trusts are continuing (under the New Deal on Juniors' Hours) to introduce working patterns and practices that enable doctors to balance the demands of work with family life. The Quality Framework for hospital and community medical staffing, which was issued as a draft compendium of guidance in April last year, emphasises the need for trusts to develop flexible working and training arrangements as part of their medical workforce planning.
Over the past year, we have introduced a new retainer scheme and a salaried general practitioner scheme for NHS general practitioners each of which will encourage women doctors back to work in primary care.
Information about the career paths and working needs of women doctors is collected regularly through the Medical Careers Research Group, whose work is funded by the Department and informs the medical workforce planning process. A separate survey is also under way at present, examining the working preferences and career development needs of doctors now in higher specialist training. The results are intended to inform the design of hospital consultant posts, helping to ensure that women doctors with family responsibilities are able to work within the NHS at a level commensurate with their skills and abilities. The Department is also funding a support network for consultants who are working part-time.
A number of initiatives are under way to support family friendly working and to encourage women doctors to return to the NHS. The Don't Waste Doctors project in the North West Region looked at ways to prevent doctors from leaving the service, or to bring them back. In Wessex, a pilot scheme has been running to assess the needs of unemployed GPs and to help them back into the NHS. We hope that both schemes will provide models for wider use. The Department has also funded trials of a self-rostering software package in the NHS. Most of the participants in the trials have been nurses, but the package may have much wider application. This scheme is currently being carefully evaluated, and a report is expected early in the autumn.