Local MP, Caroline Dinenage, welcomed this week's announcement from the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt.
The Health Secretary revealed that five new medical schools are opening their doors to student doctors starting this September - in Sunderland, Lancashire, Canterbury, Lincoln and Chelmsford – places at existing schools are also being increased as part of the government's commitment to increase student places by 25%.
This will mean an additional 1,500 medical school places per year by 2020. Some 630 of the 1,500 new places will start this September, including at the new site in Chelmsford, with the rest to follow in 2019 and 2020.
The expansion was announced two years ago in response to the growing pressures on the frontline, and the ageing population but ministers are now setting out the detail of how the increase is being phased in.
Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt said:
"Setting up five new medical schools is part of the biggest ever expansion of our medical and nursing workforce; which will help us deal with the challenges of having around one million more over 75s in 10 years' time.
These schools are being set up in parts of the country where it can be hard to recruit and attract new doctors – but will benefit doctors everywhere as we start to eliminate the rota gaps that add so much pressure to their work."
Commenting Caroline said:
"As our society ages, as scientific breakthroughs create innovative new fields of medicine, and as our demands on the NHS increase, it is vital that our committed NHS workforce expands to keep pace.
I am pleased that locally we have 158 more hospital doctors and 142 more nurses than 2010, showing our Government's commitment to the NHS."