Many families are being forced to find an average £3,123 a year – or an estimated £15,000 over a five year medical course – to get their children through medical school owing to spiralling levels of debt and the impact of tuition fees, a new BMA report has claimed.
The findings are contained in the BMA’s latest medical student finance report which surveyed 1,987 students across the UK about their finances.
• Two thirds of students are now relying on parental support while they study, with the average amount being given in a year standing at £3,123.
• Over the five year medical degree this could result in an estimated hidden bill of £15,000 for families whose children want to become doctors.
• Junior doctors who graduated in 2009 left medical school with an average debt of £22,851 – up by a fifth since 2008.
• The number of students entering medicine from low income groups remains poor, with just one in twenty medical students coming from the lowest two income groups.
Louise McMenemy, the BMA’s student finance lead, said: “The UK is facing a growing crisis in medical student finance. All students are facing rising debt levels, but those studying medicine are being hit particularly hard, partly as they are often not able to take part time work as their degree is more intensive and lengthy than other undergraduate programmes. “It is vital that these financial burdens are tackled, especially by the current higher education funding review, and not exacerbated by any further rise in tuition fees. This move would be a disaster, as we are already facing a situation where the NHS risks being denied the services of talented individuals with the ability, but not the bank balance, to get them through medical school.”
