Question reference: S6W-27355
- Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 8 May 2024
-
Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 May 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it made on creating the 152 extra doctor training places in 2023 that it announced in November 2022; how many additional trainee doctors were recruited into each speciality in 2023, and whether it will maintain or increase the number of training places in 2024.
Answer
The creation of 152 extra specialty training places for trainee doctors went ahead in 2023 as planned. A breakdown of these posts by specialty can be found here .
The recruitment of trainee doctors in 2023 was the most successful to date; a total of 1,231 specialty training posts were advertised and 1,156 (94%) filled. Please note that these figures are accurate as at 26 March 2024 i.e. when end-year data was published. The publication itself can be found here , and a full breakdown of recruitment by specialty can be found here .
The Scottish Government announced funding on 23 November 2023 for further expansion taking place in 2024. This will see 153 additional specialty training places created this year – the largest uplift to date. More information can be found here . The 2024 recruitment cycle is currently underway and will conclude in November.