The profile of the medical profession continues to change. My dad is a now long-retired doctor and was one of six white male UK-trained GPs in a practice and this demographic was the norm in the 1970 and 1980s. This week’s report, The state of medical education and practice in the UK from the General Medical Council shows the changing nature of the medical workforce and the increasing diversity of our community. The ethnic diversity of the UK workforce has increased substantially since 2016. International medical graduates now make up 41% of the workforce and the workforce is close to reaching parity between male and female doctors.
Our dependence on recruiting international medical graduates may diminish as expansion in medical school intakes gather pace as part of the Long Term Workforce Plan. But the GMC report also highlights a continued issue with retention; although the overall number of doctors leaving the profession remains static at 4% per annum, over 15% of joiners to the paediatric specialist register between 2016 and 2018 left within 5 years.
Training tomorrow’s workforce relies on recruitment and retention. Details such as those in the GMC report are crucial and we should also recognise the many multi-layered, multifaceted challenges that the workforce is facing, including increasingly flexible working patterns, career breaks, patient health seeking behaviours and changes in incidence and prevalence of conditions. Our updated Facing the Future document will consider workforce planning through the paediatric lens. The Chief Executive of the GMC is concerned that the “UK risks ‘sleepwalking’ into a waste of doctors’ skills” - we will ensure that the NHS across the UK is wide awake to the potential to the nation’s future health and economic wellbeing of having a well-trained and adequately staffed child health workforce.
#WDYCD4Y - What Does Your College Do for You
As a paediatric membership organisation we are aware of the need to support the fantastic new cohort of trainees who are embarking on their paediatric career. Our #ChoosePaediatrics Programme has once again had resounding success with excellent application numbers and impressive fill rates across both levels. ST1 (Specialty Training 1) saw a fill rate of 99.79% (just 1 post out of 479 unfilled). ST3 a 100% fill rate (that’s all 63 posts) in the main recruitment round with another 30+ posts to be allocated in the second round.
This recruitment success is testament to the passion and dedication of our College staff and members who support aspiring paediatricians. Our Choose Paediatrics web pages have lots of resources for students, foundation doctors and new trainees, as well as some posters and tips to help you promote your career.
And if you’ve recently chosen this path – congratulations and welcome to our community of paediatricians!
RCPCH publishes PAs in paediatrics member survey results
Last week we published the results of our independently led member survey on Physician Associates (PAs) in paediatrics. Enormous thanks to the 2,000+ paediatricians who responded to the survey, we are grateful for your insights and reflections. We also published our College response, which includes good practice points for paediatricians when working with PAs, recommendations to governments and our own next steps. You can read the report and response on our website.
Our continued engagement with the NHS 10 Year Plan
This week we have submitted not one but two organisational responses to the public engagement initiative aimed at shaping the NHS 10 Year Plan in England – one from our Health Policy Team and one from our Children and Young People's Engagement team (RCPCH &Us). Under 16s were excluded from the engagement so we decided to submit a CYP perspective. RCPCH &Us managed to speak to over 2,000 children and young people to capture a really rich set of patient voices, in lieu of under 16s being able to contribute as individuals. In these responses we have supported the proposed “three shifts”, advocated for a child rights-based approach and highlighted further foundational changes needed to ensure the plan meets children and young people needs.
As a reminder, we have developed a range of resources on our website about the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and across our social channels, including X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Engagement for individuals is still open and we are encouraging members to make the case and ensure children and young people aren't forgotten on the Change NHS Online Portal: Your experiences: workforce and Your ideas for change.
Action on child poverty
I’m thrilled to see this week the Scottish Government's decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap, a significant move towards eradicating child poverty. As proud members of the End Child Poverty Coalition, we will continue to urge the UK Government to follow Scotland’s lead. The coalition has also this week published eight tests for the UK-wide Child Poverty Strategy, emphasising the need a child’s rights approach, reform and resources for public services and for the strategy to work with all levels of government across the four nations. As paediatricians, we are acutely aware of poverty's devastating impact on children's physical and mental health and so the College is continuing to call for measures to tackle health inequalities and breakdown barriers so every child can access high quality healthcare, but particularly in underserved communities.
Our updated clinical guidance on the mpox outbreak
A College working group has updated our mpox guidance to align with NHS England and UKHSA guidance, incorporating new evidence and evolving clinical practice. Our guidance addresses the initial assessment and care of children or young people with suspected mpox, as well as newborns of mothers with the condition.
The 2024 update includes information on both clade I mpox (classified as a High Consequence Infectious Disease, or HCID), which may be associated with more severe disease, particularly in young children and clade II mpox (not classified as an HCID). It provides enhanced diagnostic strategies and practical management recommendations.
See our mpox web page for the full guidance, an interactive quick guide flowchart and other resources.
In case you missed it!
In September we updated our position statement on the impact of air pollution on child health, including a handy downloadable quick read version. One of our College Clinical Fellows, who worked on this as part of our partnership with the Clean Air Fund, has written an article summarising what clinicians need to know about air pollution and why it’s relevant to healthcare professionals. A perfect coffee break read!
Best wishes,
Steve
This message was emailed to all RCPCH members who are opted in to receive College updates / professional updates. You can update your contact preferences at any time - log in to your RCPCH online account, go to My account | Your contact preferences, then make sure you've ticked College updates / professional updates.