Committee starts work on extra medic places

The group responsible for allocating 1,000 additional medical school places met for the first time this week to consider criteria for awarding the new places.

The joint Department of Health/Higher Education Funding Council for England implementation group, which will eventually recommend whether to award the additional places to existing medical schools or to look to new models for doctor training, is expected to consult widely on exact criteria. These are likely to include cost, quality of education and training offered, schools' admission policies and retention rates, and the timescale over which the new doctors will be available for practice.

Chaired by HEFCE's chief executive, Brian Fender, and Chris Kelly, permanent secretary at the Department of Health, the group is expected to publish its criteria for selection in the run-up to Christmas, inviting bids from established and proposed medical schools in the new year. The announcement of new allocations for medical students is expected during summer 1999.

The government has not yet indicated how much money is being put aside for the new medical school places, which are to be phased in. However, the Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee, which recommended the increase, suggested it might cost an extra Pounds 20 million a year.