Government attempts to widen access to the medical profession are failing, according to a report by the British Medical Association. The BMA claims that “there is no real evidence that attempts by ministers to encourage students from low income families into medicine have had a significant impact”.
The findings are contained in the BMA’s Equality and diversity in UK medical schools report which takes a wide ranging look at the profile of the UK’s 40,000 medical students. It contains an analysis of the latest figures (2008) on successful applications to UK medical schools from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Key findings from the report include:
• Only around one in seven successful applicants are from the lowest economic groups, despite them making up just under half of the UK population.
• In the past five years, there has been an increase of just 1.7% in students coming from low income backgrounds, despite £392 million being poured into widening access schemes across the higher education system since 2001.
• Women made up 56% of all accepted applicants to UK medical schools in 2008.
• Women already form a large majority of staff in certain specialities, for example around eight out of ten palliative care specialty doctors are women. Conversely, women make up only one in twelve consultant general surgeons in England and around one in ten medical school professors.
Commenting on the report, Professor Bhupinder Sandhu, chair of the BMA’s Equal Opportunity Committee, said: “There are some encouraging findings in this report. Medical schools have proved particularly good at attracting students from some ethnic minorities. “However, within these figures there are areas of serious concern. Medical schools are still not recruiting enough students from low income backgrounds. There is evidence of a drastic gap in acceptance rates. “Some 58% of applicants from the top socio-economic group obtained a place at medical school, but only 39% of applicants from the lowest group were successful – a gap of 19%.”
