One in four doctors is over 60. Now medical associations are calling for significantly more study places

«New patients? Unfortunately, we cannot answer.” Anyone looking for a general practitioner or pediatrician will hear this answer more than once, depending on the region. “We constantly have to refuse new patients,” says GP Monika Reber, who works in a group practice in Langnau in the Emmental. “Almost no one in our region is accepting patients anymore.”

This is not an isolated case. There have been complaints about the shortage of doctors for years. There appears to be no improvement in sight, on the contrary: more than a quarter – 28.4 percent – ​​of doctors working in medical practices and outpatient clinics are 60 years or older, as the Federal Statistical Office recently announced.

Given this number, Yvonne Gilli, president of the FMH Medical Association, recently warned in “SonntagsBlick” that a drama was brewing. “The shortage of doctors is most clearly visible among general practitioners, but also affects specialist medical disciplines.” she says.

The FMH and the General Practitioners and Pediatricians Switzerland (mfe) are therefore demanding: Switzerland must train more doctors and therefore create more study places. Thanks to a 100 million francs offensive by the federal government, their numbers have increased. The number of degrees has grown from almost 800 in 2011 to recently 1,209. But in the opinion of the two associations, that is still far from enough.

General practitioner Monika Reber is on the board of the Swiss Association of General Practitioners and Paediatricians (mfe) and is responsible for the young talent department. ‘We are still far from being able to train enough doctors’ she says. The federal government’s target of 1,300 master’s degrees per year was not enough. You can see this from how many doctors have a foreign diploma.

The numbers make you sit up and take notice: according to statistics from the medical association FMH, 39.5 percent of working doctors in Switzerland come from abroad, and the trend is rising. According to the federal government, local universities awarded as many as 1,200 federal degrees in human medicine in 2022 – at the same time, more than 3,000 foreign degrees were recognized.

‘We attract many doctors from abroad’ says Reber. Firstly, this is ethically very questionable to this extent, and secondly, it makes Switzerland very dependent.

Reber gives a specific number: the family and pediatricians association mfe calls for 500 additional places within four years. “That seems possible to us,” she says. To achieve this goal, the federal government must finance a new offensive. The association calls for a new edition of the so-called special program for human medicine: the federal government should release another 100 million francs for this.

Another 100 million francs must be invested in measures so that more graduates can later opt for the urgently needed basic outpatient care. The association has submitted these requirements to the federal government.

The FMH supports the demand for 500 additional places. In addition, the general conditions for practicing the profession must be improved, says FMH chairman Yvonne Gilli – both for young doctors and for the baby boom generation, which will soon reach retirement age. According to Gilli, she could cope with the impending shortage of doctors if it remains attractive for her to remain professionally active after retirement age.

Some have already been doing this – sometimes longer than planned, Monika Reber explains. It is very difficult for general practitioners to find a successor.

But is it appropriate to demand additional spending on university places at a time of rising premiums? Indeed, according to the federal government, the cost of studying medicine per person in 2020 averaged 106,880 francs per year.

“We also asked ourselves this question,” assures Reber. The association is aware that the population suffers from the costs.

However, the federal government is not planning any increases so far; she considers herself on course. The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, responsible for the training offensive, is confident that at least 1,300 master’s degrees will be awarded from 2025. An increase is not a priority for the authority.

The Federal Public Health also reacts cautiously: There is an increasing trend in terms of study places and degrees. However, based on two postulates, the Federal Council has agreed to investigate to what extent further action is necessary according to the master plan “Family medicine and basic medical care”. So there is a small door open. (aargauerzeitung.ch)