Encouraging a wider participation in medicine, these institutions hope to plug the shortage of GPs, says Catherine Lally

Five new medical schools are opening in England, offering more opportunities for young people to study medicine. As well as addressing a shortage of NHS doctors, it is hoped that these schools will boost the numbers from disadvantaged backgrounds entering the profession. The middle class has long had a stranglehold on medicine, and demands for applicants to have extensive work experience is not helping it to diversify.

Several of the new medical schools are in areas with significant GP vacancies and the hope is that a proportion of qualified doctors will remain in the area.

Our philosophy is built around deconstructing the barriers that prevent students from accessing medicine, says Professor Scott Wilkes, the head of Sunderlands new medical school, which opens this autumn with

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New medical schools open to disadvantaged pupils | Good University Guide 2020 - The Times