Drive for more doctors and nurses from deprived backgrounds UK

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 10 Aug 2004 - 11:00 PDT

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UK Health minister John Hutton today spearheaded a new drive to recruit more NHS staff from underprivileged backgrounds. He announced details of nine schemes around the country which aim to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds become doctors, nurses and allied health professionals.

Research shows that 74% of the medical school population come from the highest three social classes, although just 38% of the working age population is from this background. Asian ethnic groups are under-represented in applicants to nursing courses, and there is evidence that black and ethnic minority applicants have difficulty in securing course places.

The schemes, which have been given £9 million funding by the Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) over five years, will look at ways of encouraging a wider range of young people to train in the healthcare professions. The project is part of AimHigher which is a joint initiative involving the Department for Education and Skills, HEFCE and the Learning and Skills Council, to widen participation in higher education and increase the number of people who have the ability and aspirations to benefit from it.

John Hutton also announced today that the Department of Health would meet the full cost of variable tuition fees for medical and dental students in years 5 and 6 of the standard undergraduate courses, and years 2, 3 and 4 of fast-track courses. This brings them in line with nurses and other health professionals.



Mr Hutton said: "It is vital that the NHS not only improves the health of all sections of the community, but also accurately reflects that community in the people it employs. We need more doctors, nurses and AHPs and we need them from all walks of life. It is unacceptable that some people are effectively held back from these professions because of their financial, social or cultural background.

"These projects and the Department's commitment to meet medical and dental students' tuition fees will open doors to young people from low-income backgrounds who would previously never have thoughts about a career in the NHS."

John Rushforth, HEFCE's Director of Widening Participation, said: "It is essential that the opportunity to enter higher education for the healthcare professions is open to anyone who has the potential to succeed, regardless of their background. These new schemes are an important step forward in ensuring that the healthcare professions better reflect the wider population through widening participation.

"I am particularly pleased that we have been able to work so effectively with the Department of Health, integrating their needs into an existing scheme thereby avoiding the need for additional bureaucratic burden on the institutions involved."

Leigh Bissett, chairman of the BMA's Medical Students Committee, said: "Medicine is dominated by students from the highest social classes, and this is a welcome opportunity to give more young people the chance to become doctors. Widening access is the responsibility of the government as well as the medical profession, and we are pleased to see the Department of Health taking the issues seriously."

The scheme in London specifically targets African-Caribbean students and disadvantaged young people who have traditionally been excluded from career progression. It will work with teachers and parents to provide an understanding of the qualities, skills and qualifications that students will need to train in healthcare. It will also carry out an analysis of the admissions procedures in the NHS and Higher Education Institutes.

The project being run in the North-West region will use mentoring and community engagement to encourage children from disadvantaged backgrounds to enrol in vocational healthcare training schemes.

Notes to editor

1. For media enquiries, call Victoria MacCallum at the Department of Health media centre on 020 7210 5281. Case studies are also available for interview.

2. The 9 projects will come under the umbrella of the HEFCE/ Department for Education and Skills/ Learning and Skills Council's "AimHigher" intitiative which brings together two major outreach programmes (Partnerships for Progression and Excellence Challenge). This also links with NHS U's initiative on Junior Scholarship pathfinder projects which are now being developed locally. The original invitation to bid for funding and the Aimhigher: guidance notes for integration publication (HEFCE 2004/08) can be found on the HEFCE website under 'Publications'.

3. Funding for the projects will begin immediately. Students beginning their medical studies this September will be eligible for their variable tuition fees to be paid by the Department.

4. Origins of the research mentioned in paragraph 2:

Information on medical students has been obtained from the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Research and Statistics Division. Information on the population in general has been provided by EOR from the Office of national Statistics, the General Register office Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

5. Details of the nine regional pilots:

East of England: Young People into Health professions
Targeting young people aged 14-19 from groups which are under-represented in Higher Education. The proposal will roll out the NHS U 'Junior Scholarship' scheme and encourage mentoring.
Contact details: Chris Green - C.Green@apu.ac.uk

East Midlands: AimHigher healthcare for the East Midlands: Delivering a diverse health and social care workforce
Aims to increase the diversity of the student profile in allied health professional education programmes. Will deliver a strategic approach to diverse recruitment in the East Midlands.
Contact details: Grahame Killey - G.Killey@lboro.ac.uk

London: Widening participation in health professions among lower socio-economic groups in the London region
Specifically seeks to engage African Caribbean students, students who pursue vocational study, BME groups generally and disadvantaged young people who have traditionally been excluded from progression.
Contact details: John Parry: 020 7468 5219 or Fiona Pullen: 020 7468 5037

North East: Common Access framework for the health sector
Ensures that school leavers are aware of the range of job opportunities and career progression available within the NHS.
Contact details: Shona Paul - S.Paul@unis4ne.ac.uk, 0191 516 4405

North West: Increasing access to employment in the NHS - a community engagement approach
Aims to increase access to vocational healthcare education among disadvantaged young people in the North West, using community engagement approach and mentoring.
Contact details: Bryan Pready - preadyb@edgehill.ac.uk, 01695 584805

South East: AimHigher south east NHS progression pathways - a framework for change Raise the aspirations of a significant number of potential students who will then undertake vocational healthcare training.
Contact details:Lawrie Taylor - LawrieTaylor@hese.ac.uk

South West: Opening doors: the key to healthcare professions To raise awareness and widen access for people who would not normally consider entering the healthcare professions.
Contact details: Sue Hatt - Susan.Hatt@uwe.ac.uk, 0117 3442361

Yorkshire and the Humber: Raising aspirations and attainment of school years 9-13 in order to widen participation in medicine, professions allied to medicine, health science, nursing and midwifery
This will build on existing health related outreach activity being undertaken by Excellence Challenge in Leeds. It will address the lack of diversity and the narrow socio-economic backgrounds of applicants to medicine and professions allied to it.
Contact details: Kath Bridger - K.Bridger@leeds.ac.uk, 0113 343 2746

West Midlands: Raising the profile (vocational, work-placed and community-placed learners 16-30)
This will raise the aspirations of learners already in the workplace, on vocational courses and in the community with particular reference to under-represented groups.
Contact details: Vivien Wylie - V.Wylie@wlv.ac.uk, 01902 824422

Press release from the UK Dept of Health

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