Patients struggling to get GP appointments because too many women are doctors, retired surgeon claims
‘Imbalance’ of women doctors harming NHS, retired surgeon says
- A prominent retired surgeon, Dr Meirion Thomas, has claimed that too many women are pursuing medical degrees, which is detrimental to the NHS.
- Dr Thomas said that “women have got to have children”, and their subsequent part-time work arrangements negatively impact NHS services, including patient access to GPs.
- He suggested that medical schools should reduce the intake of female students from the current 60-70 per cent, which is a “huge imbalance”, to a 50-50 gender split.
- The comments were made amidst ongoing discussions about NHS strikes, with thousands of resident doctors set to walk out for five days.
- NHS England has urged the public to continue seeking care during the strikes, advising the use of 111 online for urgent but non-life-threatening issues.