| Abstract: | One area of health services in the UK which has been neglected by commentators is the supply of skilled medical staff within a nationalised health service. This is a surprising omission because in the UK we have a labour market for doctors which exhibits the worst aspects of monopoly. Furthermore, the combination of monopoly control by the medical profession on the supply side and the nationalised National Health Service on the demand side has resulted in a lower number of doctors per head than in other Western European countries. Overseas doctors are recruited to make up some of the shortfall but the deficiency in numbers is such that government plans to deliver more healthcare more quickly cannot be met in the short term without importing overseas firms with their staff, and in the long term require an expansion in medical education. |
