Plaid Cymru is proposing paying off the debt of student doctors as part of a package of measures to overcome the recruitment crisis threatening the future of the Welsh NHS.
The policy, which would be in return for a number of guaranteed years’ service, is part of a consultation launched this week by the Party of Wales which aims to tackle the recruitment crisis in the Welsh NHS by attracting 1,000 doctors.
A failure to attract doctors to Wales has been cited as the main reason behind the centralisation agenda of the Welsh Government and health boards. This policy has now placed under threat the services at numerous hospitals like Prince Philip Hospital.
It is also estimated that there is a GP ‘time bomb’ in certain parts of Wales with many on the verge of retirement and a lack of new recruits ready to replace them. This recruitment drive would help offset the fact that Wales has one of the lowest levels of doctors per head of the population in the EU with only Romania and Poland worse off.
Mid and West AM for Plaid Cymru Simon Thomas said:
“In recent years the removal of services from Prince Philip has been the source of bitterness and disappointment about those who run hospital services. The Party of Wales values the work of all the staff at Prince Philip Hospital and across Wales and this is why we have started to talk about how we can tackle the recruitment crisis in our NHS. The lack of doctors is one the reasons that is given for people taking away services from Llanelli.”
“This consultation is the first building block in improving our NHS for the long term. We have a proud history in Wales – the birthplace of the ideas that led to creation of the NHS so why can we not come up with the ideas to build a sustainable Welsh NHS. This consultation document allows people to discuss our vision of the long term of the NHS.”
Sean Rees, Plaid Llanelli Press Officer added:
“This important document shows yet again that it is the Party of Wales that has a vision for health services in Llanelli and for the whole of Wales.”
“In order to achieve a safe and sustainable NHS, residents in Llanelli and across Wales must have access to an Accident + Emergency service on their doorsteps. Unfortunately our NHS has become a target driven institution where priority has been given too much to completing paperwork. Under our new innovative proposals, the focus will be more on meeting the needs of the patient.”
Jill Evans MEP has revealed the failure of health boards across Wales to actively recruit from other parts of the European Union. This document won’t solve the recruitment problems in the Welsh NHS overnight. It is to kick start a debate for a brighter future for our NHS. The Party of Wales hopes that people of Llanelli who are passionate about their health services will take part in this discussion.”
The consultation aims to improve access to GPs in the community, tackle the lengthening waiting lists for operations and increase the capacity of the NHS to deal with an ageing population.
The consultation document outlines in greater detail how the 1,000 doctors will be enlisted to shore up Wales’s creaking NHS. Plaid Cymru will seek to lay solid foundations for the NHS in Wales to not only survive, but thrive.
The policies contained in the consultation document are grouped into four main themes; financial incentives, creating an innovative NHS, revamping and reinvesting in training and finally, international recruitment.
Many of the policies are a combination of long-term and short term measures which the Welsh Government could, and should be, encouraging as a matter of urgency.
While some of the policies will require extra funding, some measures are designed to save money such as the creation of a paperless NHS to cut down on bureaucracy and mainstreaming clinical research in order to bring in extra research income.
The consultation document includes proposals to:
• Pay off student debt for doctors in return for them spending a portion of their training and early employment in an under-served area.
• Develop an innovative NHS and a heavy emphasis on research to make Wales a more attractive place for doctors to develop their careers
• Revamp training for postgraduate doctors to improve the skills that currently exists.
• Recruit doctors from foreign countries as a short term solution to specific staffing shortages
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