IT COSTS nearly €300,000 to train a doctor to be a general practitioner, new figures released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) suggest.
Specialist GP training after medical school involves generally two years’ working in a practice in the community and two further years in a hospital.
New figures drawn up by the HSE state that the average cost per trainee for the first two years is €205,000.
The HSE maintains that while the basic salary for working in a hospital is €38,839 for the first year and €40,988 for the second, there would be “significant overtime expenses” in addition to these figures.
The figures are included in a document dated November 22nd, which was drawn up in reply to a parliamentary question submitted by Jan O’Sullivan of the Labour Party.
The HSE maintains that early analysis of GP training costs indicates that from one region to another “the average cost incurred by the HSE in relation to training a single GP varies significantly”.
“The cost of one training place for one year in the community ranges from €94,300 to €110,883,” the HSE says.
“In this regard, the cost of each GP trainee ranges from €188,600 to €221,766 over the two years spent in the community.
“The average cost per trainee is €205,000 for the two years in the community.”
The document says that although during the period the trainee is working with a GP in the community, he or she is paid by the HSE although not directly working with the organisation.
“With regard to the two years in a hospital setting, the GP trainees, while they are in training, are working in that hospital providing a service for the HSE.”
The GP vocational training scheme is being expanded to allow for an increase in the number of places from 120 to 157 per year.
“A key component of this expansion is the development of a new GP training programme based in the north Dublin inner city which, in due course, will alleviate some of the current and historical pressures experienced in attracting and retaining GPs in this area,” the HSE says.
“The development of this programme is part of the national process targeted at expanding the number of GP training places based on emerging workforce requirements as cited in recent reports from sources such as FÁS and the ESRI, which point to a need for an additional 50-60 GPs per annum for the next 15 years.”