A Moray MSP has called on more local students to think about a career in medicine following research that shows that medical graduates are more likely to return to their home areas to live and work.
Richard Lochhead met with Caroline Lamb, the chief executive of NHS Education for Scotland (NES), to discuss what steps can be taken to attract more doctors to the region.
This comes after staffing issues has caused major problems at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
The lack of junior doctors and consultant paeditricians has caused the maternity ward to be downgraded and become a midwifery-led service.
In addition to this, the children’s ward at the hospital is being closed overnight and at weekends.
NES oversees the education and training of the healthcare workforce in Scotland and recently carried out research which looked at where medics worked after they graduated.
Mr Lochhead described the talks with the chief executive as “very helpful”.
He said: “My meeting with the chief executive of NHS Education for Scotland, Caroline Lamb, was most helpful in terms of understanding the complex factors that influence the supply of doctors and medical staff in Scotland and their training needs. We focussed on how best to deal with the challenges facing Dr Gray’s Hospital and our local GP practices in Moray.
“Importantly, Ms Lamb told me that she was committed to working closely with NHS Grampian and Dr Gray’s to ensure that more trainees are attracted to applying for placements in Elgin particularly within women and children’s services.”
With Moray struggling to attract staff for Dr Gray’s, Mr Lochhead wants more local students to go into medicine.
He said: “One lesson from recent research for the longer term is that medial graduates are more likely to return to their home areas to live and work and that means we need to work with medical schools to help recruit students from Moray and of course to encourage local people to consider a career in medicine.
“There are many good stories to tell about the NHS in Moray at the moment but clearly with the situation facing maternity services and paediatrics we need to urgently find ways of attracting more key staff to choose Moray. I’ll be taking many of the issues that came of my meeting in Edinburgh to Scottish Health Ministers and NHS Grampian.”