Health fears over doctor shortage

There are 1,500 O&G consultants in England and Wales

A shortage of obstetricians and gynaecologists is putting women and babies' health at risk, a report says.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called for another 1,000 consultants on top of the 1,500 working currently to provide a safe service.

The report said O&G was losing out in England and Wales to other specialities because of negative perceptions about career progression and job flexibility.

The government said the size of the workforce would expand in coming years.

The report recommended a range of measures to attract new doctors, including a national network of career mentors, recruitment targets for medical schools and more annual career fairs.

The NCT wants all women to have safe, supportive and accessible maternity care Mary Newburn, of National Childbirth Trust

The college also promised to ensure training and work arrangements would take more account of the need for a work-life balance, particularly in regard to night shifts.

College president Professor Allan Templeton said: "The future of obstetrics and gynaecology and women's health care in this country depends on a reversal and focused response to this stark reality."

He said the reasons for the decline were many-fold, but at the heart was the negative perceptions around career opportunities, undergraduate experience of the speciality and uncertainty about future consultant responsibilities.

The number of graduate doctors entering the speciality have been declining since the mid 1990s. In 1995, nearly 5% of new doctors opted for O&G, three years later that had fallen to 3.1% and in 2002 little over 1% were choosing the speciality.

The trend has meant that jobs have been increasingly filled by consultants from abroad.

Safe

At the moment there are 1,500 consultants, with under 2% of posts vacant, although the size of the workforce has grown by nearly 50% since 1997.

But the report said the UK should be aiming for 2,500 consultants to provide a safe and effective service.

Mary Newburn, head of policy research at the National Childbirth Trust, said: "This report illustrates the pressing need to recruit more UK-trained doctors into obstetrics and gynaecology.

"The NCT wants all women to have safe, supportive and accessible maternity care. Specialist medical care is vital for women with more complex pregnancies and for those who develop complications or need a medical opinion during pregnancy or labour."

A Department of Health spokeswoman said consultant numbers should rise in the coming years and added the vacancy rate was lower than many other specialities.