BMA warns of medical academic crisis in Scotland

The BMA this week called on the Scottish Executive to tackle the medical academic recruitment crisis that threatens to jeopardise plans to increase the number of medical students being educated in Scotland.

In a letter to the Scottish Executive, following it’s response to Sir Kenneth Calman’s Review of Basic Medical Education in Scotland, the BMA welcomed the Health Minister’s pledge to increase in the number of medical students in Scotland by up to 25%. However, doctors’ leaders warned that this was being proposed at a time when medical academic staff numbers are continuing to fall.

Recent figures show that, in a single year, Scotland’s medical schools have lost 6% of their clinical academic staff.1 The hardest hit medical school in Scotland was Aberdeen which had a 12.8% drop in the number of clinical academic staff employed last year. These recent figures are much higher than the rest of the UK.

Dr Stewart Irvine, Chairman of the BMA Scottish Medical Academic Staff Committee said:

“We are very concerned that clinical academic staff numbers are being allowed to fall so much at a time when the Scottish Executive is looking to substantially increase the number of medical students. Scotland clearly does need more trained doctors, but who is going to educate them if this drop in medical academics is not reversed?

“Scotland has a deservedly high reputation for the quality of teaching and research undertaken in its medical schools. We are concerned that this could be jeopardised if steps are not taken to ensure that a career in academic medicine remains an attractive option for doctors in training. The Scottish Executive must take immediate action to ensure that there are enough teachers in our medical schools; without them, it will be impossible to teach the doctors of the future and provide Scotland with the medical workforce it needs.”

Clinical academics are key staff in medical schools and have a wide-ranging role. They educate students and undertake biomedical and clinical research. They also play an important part in the NHS by providing direct patient care.