Four-year medical course announced by University of East Anglia

The four-year graduate entry medical course was unveiled at a conference on Wednesday

A university has announced what it describes as an "innovative" new way to fast-track trainee doctors into jobs.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) plans to introduce a graduate-entry medical course from September 2025.

The four-year course would be one year faster than a standard medical degree course "without compromising on quality", the university said.

At an event on Wednesday, UEA also reaffirmed its intention to establish a dentistry school in Norwich.

UEA said that East Anglia was the only region of England that does not have a dental school and as a result the region struggled to recruit and retain dentists, making it the most underserved area in the UK.

The announcements were made at a conference focusing on tackling "health inequalities" in the east of England.

UEA vice-chancellor Prof David Maguire said the course could help resolve "health inequalities" in the east of England

UEA vice-chancellor Prof David Maguire said: "The course will equip newly qualified doctors with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle health inequalities across the east of England, particularly those associated with rural and coastal areas."

He said the fast-track course - available to people who have already graduated with a degree - would be aimed at people already living in the eastern region who might feel "a motivation to serve their fellow East Anglians".

Dental school

Last year, the Association of Dental Groups called Norfolk "a dental desert", with data from the Local Government Association showing Norfolk and Waveney had one of the lowest numbers of dentists per 10,000 people in the country.

In 2022, a report by public health officials found 38% of children in Norfolk and Waveney had been seen by a dentist in the previous 12 months, compared with 46% across England.

Prof Maguire said: "We welcome the government's plan to increase the number of undergraduate dental training places.

"In considering the establishment of new dental schools in underserved areas, we are asking the government to allocate the new dentistry undergraduate places to East Anglia, where a new dental school can have the greatest impact."

Richard Sisson, a consultant for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said introducing a school would offer new dentists "a root in the county and encourage them to stay."

UEA renewed its intention to establish a dentistry school in Norwich