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Modernising Medical Careers

Some years ago, we had a serious problem in the city that I represent, Sunderland—we had the lowest proportion of GPs anywhere in the UK. When we investigated, we found that in many cases, because of the funding arrangements, doctors themselves were not encouraging recruitment into practices. The health authority intervened to deal with the situation, but it was not the fault of the Government or the money going in—doctors themselves were not going out of their way to recruit more doctors in our city.