Prioritising UK graduates for NHS training boosts number of homegrown doctors
The changes were introduced by Wes Streeting when he was health secretary
A new law which prioritises UK medical graduates for NHS training has had a dramatic effect on boosting the number of homegrown doctors, figures suggest.
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Analysis of NHS data by the Nuffield Trust think tank found that a change in the law in March has achieved its aim of prioritising medics trained in the NHS over those who trained overseas.
The changes were introduced by Wes Streeting when he was health secretary, who said he wanted to “put homegrown talent at the front of the queue for medical training posts”.
Trainees have long said there are far too many of them chasing a small number of places.
In the decade to 2025, the total number of specialty training applications increased more than five-fold from about 16,500 to almost 85,000 a year, mainly driven by medics from overseas.
The new data shows that 28 per cent of doctors accepting a specialty training place (the stage before becoming a GP or consultant) in 2025 were from what is now defined as the “non-priority” group, which includes most doctors who trained overseas.
After the change to prioritise UK graduates in March, this figure fell to 1.8 per cent.
The proportion of doctors accepting NHS specialty training places from the group that includes most overseas-trained doctors has now fallen from more than one in four to fewer than one in 50.
Overall, there were 6,734 acceptances from the priority group (the vast majority of whom trained in the UK) out of 9,351 in 2025.
In 2026, the proportion has risen dramatically so that 9,122 out of 9,286 acceptances are from doctors largely trained in the UK.
Nuffield Trust fellow, Lucina Rolewicz, said: “There is no doubt that the new law has had a big impact in terms of strengthening the domestic training pipeline for doctors.
“The numbers show just how dramatically the rules introduced this year have shifted access to specialty training away from overseas-trained doctors and towards predominantly UK-trained doctors.
“The question now is what this means for the NHS in the longer term.
“The NHS needs to make sure that prioritising homegrown doctors boosts the domestic workforce without reducing the overall supply of doctors and creating concerning staffing gaps.”
The think tank said that in the future, specialties that have historically relied more heavily on overseas graduates could be affected by shortages, including general practice, psychiatry and obstetrics.
The priority group includes NHS-trained doctors and medics who trained in countries where the UK has longstanding reciprocal agreements, including Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Health minister Karin Smyth said: “When the Government took office two years ago, UK graduates faced record competition for training places in the NHS, and in many cases were being left without a job.
“We have taken bold action to ensure UK-trained doctors – and those already working in the health service – are now first in line for these jobs.
“The Medical Prioritisation Act has halved competition rates for UK-trained doctors applying to specialty training, and the thousands of extra training places we are creating will give resident doctors better opportunities for career progression.
“The NHS will always continue to value internationally trained staff who bring new and vital skills to the NHS, but we make no apologies for prioritising the progression of UK-trained doctors.”
Dr Tom Dolphin, chairman of the British Medical Association union council, said: “We should never have been in a position where we had doctors facing unemployment because there weren’t enough training places for them, when we have so many millions of patients waiting for treatment.
“That being so, however, it was vital the Government move to prevent UK-trained doctors from being lost to the NHS for good due to the lack of training opportunities.
“Clearly the act has had a major effect this year in reducing the proportion of specialty places going to those not in the priority groups.
“It means fewer doctors who came up through the domestic training system will find themselves left without a chance of career progression. But that will remain cold comfort given the shambolic workforce planning that is still unaddressed.
“Our international colleagues are valued members of our profession who need access to career and pay progression and protection from the medical gig economy, just as much as UK graduates do.
“The blame lies with NHS workforce planning, both for leaning so heavily on international doctors to fill gaps and for leaving the entire medical training system, from foundation years to consultants, with a lack of places for doctors.”