Overview
- The GMC reports 4,880 internationally trained doctors left the UK workforce in 2024, a 26% rise on 2023 and the highest on record.
- Overseas-qualified clinicians now constitute about 42% of the medical workforce, intensifying the risk from rising departures.
- New arrivals are integrating more slowly, with only one in eight newly registered doctors securing an NHS post within six months in 2024, down from one in five in 2023.
- The number joining the UK medical register plateaued at 20,060 in 2024, the smallest annual increase since 2020.
- NHS leaders and unions cite increased abuse and anti-migrant rhetoric as key push factors, while Health Secretary Wes Streeting is pursuing more training places and changes that would prioritise UK-trained doctors.