A prominent retired surgeon has claimed too many women are doing medical degrees, which is causing problems for the NHS as “women have got to have babies” and many end up working part-time.
Dr Meirion Thomas, a former professor of surgical oncology at Imperial College, said the gender balance has swung too far in favour of female medical students.
Asked what was wrong with having more female doctors in training, Dr Thomas told Times Radio “the fact of life is that women have got to have babies”.
He said: “You’re putting me on the spot now, and I’ll be hated for this, but the fact of life is, of course, women have got to have babies. Of course, they’ve got to have time to bring up their children.”
Dr Thomas said women often end up working part-time or job-sharing, which he claimed was impacting NHS services.
“… the fact of life, in general practice, almost most of the women are working part-time, and that is one of the reasons why patients cannot get access to the same GP all the time. It’s one of the reasons why they can’t have continuity of care. Now, I’m going to be hated for saying that, but I’m afraid it’s true,” he said.
His comments came as part of a discussion about NHS strikes, which are set to run for five days from 7am on Friday, with thousands of resident doctors expected to join the walkout in an ongoing dispute over pay.
Dr Thomas said “please don’t take offence at this”, before referencing a photograph from a previous doctors’ strike, which he said showed that of the 30 to 40 people pictured, only two were men. “All the rest were women. So that tells me something,” he said.
Pressed on why that would be a problem, Dr Thomas said: “The one problem is that medical schools now are taking 60 to 70 per cent women as medical students. It’s a huge imbalance, huge imbalance and that should be reduced to 50-50 for sure.” Dr Thomas has previously complained about GPs working part-time, which the Royal College of General Practitioners has said “misses the point”.
He has also previously warned that the NHS is being flooded with doctors from poorer countries, claiming that the UK has “no idea if they are competent”.
The public is being urged to continue coming forward for NHS care during a five-day strike, which is likely to see tens of thousands of operations and appointments cancelled.
NHS England said hospitals and local teams have been preparing before the strike, and have plans in place to “minimise disruption to patient care and ensure life-saving care continues”.
Thousands of resident doctors are expected to join the walkout, which is the 12th by resident doctors since March 2023.
New NHS England boss, Sir Jim Mackey, has urged hospital leaders to keep routine operations and appointments going if possible and to only cancel if there is a risk to patient safety.
During the strike, GP surgeries will open as usual and urgent care and A&E will continue to be available for those who need them, NHS England said.
It urged the public to use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent but not life-threatening issues.
Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS England national medical director, said: “There is no doubt this industrial action will take a toll on patients and NHS staff, and it is disappointing it is going ahead.
“While it will mean some appointments won’t be able to go ahead as planned, we are doing all we can to limit this, and patients should continue to use NHS services in the usual way.
“The public should dial 999 in an emergency, and otherwise use 111 online, your local pharmacist or GP, and patients should attend NHS appointments unless told otherwise.”
