Almost 50,000 extra doctors needed in England, says BMA

New research from the British Medical Association (BMA) has found that the number of doctors in England is well behind comparable European Union nations.

According to the research, there are 2.8 doctors across general practice and hospitals per 1,000 people in England, compared to an average of 3.7 in ‘similarly developed’ EU countries.

Aside from Poland, these findings mean England has the second lowest doctor-to-person ratio compared to any other comparable EU nation.

As such, this means an estimated 50,000 extra doctors are needed to meet England’s current healthcare challenges, the BMA added.

Following these findings, the BMA is calling for the publication of regular, detailed and publicly available health and care service workforce assessments which inform current and future recruitment needs.

In addition, the association is also calling for increased treasury investment into the medical workforce and investment in retention initiatives.

“It’s frightening that we’ve reached a point where we’re short of 49,162 full-time equivalent doctors, but even more terrifying to think that this number could hit 83,779 by 2043, as our research suggests,” said Latifa Patel, acting chair of the BMA representative body and chief officer workforce lead.

“If this crisis is left to deepen, more patients will go without the care they need, their safety will be threatened, and existing staff will be pushed to the limit like never before, driving yet more talented healthcare professionals out of the NHS,” she added.