Staffordshire GP says practices are desperate for the ability to recruit more doctors

A senior doctor in Staffordshire says too many newly qualified GPs aren't able land jobs in the communities they trained in.

"We have about somewhere between 36 and 40 qualifying locally" said Dr Paul Scott, GP at Silverdale and Rycroft Practice in Newcastle.

"There are only about four or five jobs because the government has reduced the funding for core general practice by about 11% in the last three to five years."

"These aren't just graduates, they're 10, 11, 12 year super trained doctors and most who want to work in North North Staffordshire and Stoke and because the core funding of general practice is so cut to the bone, there is no money to recruit."

"As an experienced GP, the current system is mad"

It comes after GPs in England voted to take industrial action for the first time in 60 years over concerns about new contracts and funding.

Dr Scott continued "Gosh, two, three, four years ago we couldn't get doctors for love nor money. For everyone qualifying there was three or four posts for them, they had their pick of the jobs. In literally about a year that's flipped over because all the new money has gone in alternative roles which are not allowed to be spent on doctors and nurses.

"I've heard of rumours of people of newly qualified GPs having to work as Uber drivers or as anything - and they've got the full skill set and practices are crying out for the ability to recruit those doctors and bolt them in, you know it can even be ring-fenced, just give flexibility to that money pool. If they just allowed each patch a doctor to be used out of that pool, we would snap their arms off and they would fit right in, they would have enough of the demanding caseload that they would be lapped up."

We've approached the government's Department of Health & Social Care for a response.

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