Professional Training

Only persons whose names are on the medical register can practice as doctors in the National Health Service, and only persons whose names are on the dental register can practise dentistry in Britain. The minimum qualification for registration of a doctor requires, five to seven years’ training in the medical school and hospital, and, for a dentist, four years at a dental school.

It also requires that before becoming fully registered and entitled to practise independently a medical student must spend at least a year after the completion of his examinations in satisfactory service in a resident medical capacity in one or more approved hospitals or institutions.

The General Medical Council is the governing body of the medical profession. It sees to it that no unqualified persons practice medicine.

There are 16 universities that grant degrees in medicine and surgery. In addition, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons grant diplomas which are recognized by the General Medical Council.

Higher degrees of Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Master of Surgery (MS), Membership or Fellowship of one of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP), Fellowship of one of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) may be obtained after examinations.

National Health Services in the United Kingdom

C: Good morning! May I come in?

M: Good morning. Come in please. Sit down. What can I do for you?

C: Let me introduce myself. I am a correspondent of the Russian journal “Medicine for you”. Our readers want to know more about the National Health Service in the U. K. Would you be so kind as to answer some of my questions?

M: I'll answer them with great pleasure.

C: Then, my first question is: When was the National Health Service established?

M: You know, our Service is rather young, it was established throughout the U.K. on the 5 ^th of July 1948.

C: And I wonder: What does it consist of?

M: Well, it consists of 3 main parts.

C: What are these parts?

M: They are the general practitioner services, the hospital and specialist services and the local health authority services.

C: Please, tell me about the practitioner services in detail.

M: You see, the practitioner services consist of the Family Doctor Service, the Dental Service and the Pharmaceutical Service.

С: And I am interested: What do these services provide the patient with?

M: They provide the patient with the individual medical attention that he needs.

C: Our readers ask: May the doctor accept private patients while taking part in the Service?

M: Yes, of course. Each doctor may accept private patients while taking part in the Service.

C: And what can you say about the pay? Where do doctors receive the pay from?

M: Our doctor can receive their pay both from our Service and from their private patients.

C: And what is the number of population using the Service?

M: If I am not mistaken, the number is 97 per cent.

C: Please, tell me some more about Family doctors. As far as I know, patients may choose the doctor they wish and may also change their doctors. And what about the doctors?

M: The doctor has the same freedom to accept or refuse patients as he wishes. He cannot be forced to attend any person against his will.

C: What can you say about the maximum permitted number of patients’ names to be put on one principal's list.

M: As far as I remember, this number is 3,500.

C: And what about the present average number?

M: Well, the present average number is about 2,200.

C: Thank you very much. I've got to know much interesting information about the National Health Service in the U.K. Our interview will be published in two weeks. I'll send you some copies of the journal.

M: Oh, thanks. I'll be waiting for it. I wish you good luck.

С: Thank you. Good-bye!

M: Good-bye!