Coronavirus: Queen's to admit 80 more medical students

Queen's University (QUB) is to admit 80 more medical students after Stormont ministers agreed to fund the places.

It will mean the number of students able to begin studying to become doctors at the Belfast university will rise by about 30% over two years.

However, 50 will not be able to begin their studies until September 2021.

A previous review of medical places said Northern Ireland needed at least 100 more medical students a year to meet the increasing demand for doctors.

As well as the extra places at QUB, Ulster University (UU) is also recruiting 70 graduate students to begin a four-year medical degree course in 2021.

BBC News NI had previously revealed that Health Minister Robin Swann was seeking £18m from the executive to pay for the rise in university places for medical students at QUB.

However, that £18m was spread over a number of years as most medical degrees last five years followed by two years of foundation training after students qualify as doctors.

Mr Swann was also seeking funding for about 40 extra nursing and midwifery places across QUB and UU.

Due to changes in A-level results in 2020 more students had grades to enable them to study medicine.

On Friday, Finance Minister Conor Murphy confirmed that the Department of Health would receive £530,000 for additional medical, nursing and midwifery places.

BBC News NI understands that is the initial funding requested by Mr Swann to allow the extra places to be established in 2020-21.

However, Mr Murphy said money for the extra places would be ring-fenced in future years.

QUB will now be able to admit 30 extra medical students immediately.

Another 50 students will have to defer their studies for a year but will have a guaranteed place to study medicine in September 2021.

The Department of Health previously funded around 230 places for new medical students at Queen's each year.

An additional 80 places over two years will increase that number to more than 300 by September 2021.

Analysis: 'Years before doctors shortfall is addressed'

While the £530,000 announced on Friday is only a fraction of the £18m sought by Robin Swann for extra medical places, Conor Murphy said future funding for those places would be ring-fenced.

By the time many of the students now able to begin medical studies in 2020 and 2021 fully qualify late in the decade, £18m is likely to be the total bill to the executive.

Queen's University seems content the funding will be in place in future years.

That means about 150 more students are set to begin training to be doctors by the end of 2021, as Ulster University's graduate medical school is also due to open next year.

But due to the time a medical degree takes to complete it will be a number of years before the extra places begin to address the shortfall in doctors in Northern Ireland.

QUB welcomed confirmation of the funded places, saying; "This will ensure that all students who have now met the conditions of their offer can be accommodated and next year's applicants will not be unduly affected,"

"Unfortunately, we do not have the physical capacity to offer places for this academic year to all medicine students who have now met the conditions of their offer.

Conor Murphy confirmed that the Department of Health would receive £530,000 for additional medical, nursing and midwifery places.

"Students that cannot be accommodated in 2020-21 will be given an unconditional offer for the 2021-22 academic year.

"All students meeting the terms of their offer are being contacted to clarify their year of entry as soon as possible."

Mr Swann paid tribute "to our universities for the vital work they do in helping to build a world class workforce for our health service".

Mr Murphy also said that £3.2m was being made available to the Department for the Economy to fund places for other students who met the grades required for university courses following changes to A-Level results.

"While the university admissions process is still ongoing, the Executive nevertheless wants to provide as much clarity and certainty as possible to both our universities and students," he said.

"That is why we have committed to funding for additional places that may be required for the duration of the course."