With the vital funding yet to be confirmed, the College fears there is a “real danger” that it could be cut from April
The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) has warned that patients in deprived areas could face even greater difficulty accessing GP services if funding for the Targeted Enhanced Recruitment Scheme (TERS) is withdrawn.
In a letter to NHS England, the College is calling for confirmation that TERS will be extended for 2025/26 and beyond.
The scheme, launched in 2016, was designed to attract GP trainees to economically disadvantaged areas, where healthcare provision has historically been inadequate.
TERS offers a one-off payment of £20,000 to GP trainees who commit to working in hard-to-recruit-to locations. Over the years, the scheme has successfully recruited over 2,000 GPs.
However, with funding for 2025/26 yet to be confirmed, the RCGP is worried that it could be cut from April.
The College has expressed concern that discontinuing the scheme could “make it even more difficult to recruit GPs to work in deprived and under-doctored areas where patients are already significantly disadvantaged compared to those in more affluent areas of the country.”
Highlighting the UK-wide workforce crisis, RCGP pointed out that in the most deprived areas of England, there are 2,450 patients per full time, fully qualified GP – over 300 more patients per GP than in more affluent areas of the country.
The areas with the highest numbers of places available through the TERS scheme in 2024/25 were Durham and Tees Valley (60), Dewsbury, Pontefract & Wakefield (47) and Sherwood Forest (36).
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the RCGP, expressed her concerns: “It’s alarming to see a scheme that has provided our patients with much-needed access to GPs now under threat.”
“The TERS has successfully attracted thousands of GP trainees to work in areas that they might previously not have considered, and which desperately need more GPs.
“It has led to clear benefits, including improved patient access, continuity of care, and long-term workforce retention.”
Hawthorne emphasised that cutting the scheme would be a “major step backwards” for the government’s manifesto commitment to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy across the UK.
She noted that the scheme not only encourages GP trainees to take roles in more deprived areas of the country but also put down roots and become part of the community.
“The continuation of TERS is important if we are to attract and retain GPs in these areas and truly tackle health inequalities for our patients,” she added.
