New figures released today show that it's another strong year for psychiatric recruitment, as the number of applicants for core psychiatric training are at almost 100% of the positions available.
The College’s Choose Psychiatry campaign has helped to increase the fill rate in England from 67.3% in 2017 to 79.0% in 2018, 92.5% in 2019 and 99.4% in 2020, figures published by Health Education England show.
Dr Kate Lovett, the Dean at RCPsych said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we have achieved nearly a 100% fill rate this year for doctors choosing psychiatry for their specialty training.
"There’s never been a more important time to address mental health need in the UK.
“We need more psychiatrists to meet demand both now and for the future. Our campaign to attract the brightest and best doctors to the specialty has been steadily building over the last few years. This result is down to the hard work and determination of many to showcase the very real difference good psychiatric care makes to people’s lives.
“We need to continue to be just as ambitious in our efforts to support and value each one of our hard fought trainees throughout their careers. We also need to ensure that medical school places are further expanded to secure the psychiatric workforce supply we will continue to need for the future.”
- View the fill rates for core psychiatry and other specialties (HEE website)
- View the HEE press release highlighting exceptional fill rates in GP and core psychiatry (HEE website)