Hundreds let into medical school despite poor grades

SCOTLAND’S medical schools have been allowing under-qualified students on to their courses ahead of brighter applicants, it has been revealed.

Official government statistics show that hundreds of university entrants who obtained the equivalent of five C grades or lower at Higher were accepted to study medicine in Scotland between 1997 and 2003.

School-leavers must normally obtain at least five A-grade Highers or three A grades at A Level before they will be allowed on to the highly competitive courses.

The figures have raised fears that standards in the country’s medical schools are slipping under pressure from the increasing shortage of doctors in the NHS.

A recent survey by the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians revealed that Scotland needs another 400 consultants to cope with patient levels.

But the universities claim that lower grades have been accepted under schemes to widen the pool of students looking to pursue a career in medicine.

And with medicine at university oversubscribed by 11 applications from fully qualified candidates for each place, it means hundreds of pupils who have made the grade have been rejected.

The figures were released by the government’s Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in response to a parliamentary question by Tory MP James Clappison.

"It raises worrying questions about the lowering of standards in both the medical schools themselves and for the future of the NHS," said Clappison, the MP for Hertsmere, in Hertfordshire.

"Someone with lower grades might get through the examinations to become a doctor but they might not make a better doctor than those with higher grades.

"While I agree with recruiting by looking at applicants on an individual basis, these figures are not insignificant. They raise questions about the fairness in accepting students who do not make the grade in favour of those that do."

The figures show that between 1997 and 2003, 345 students who obtained the equivalent of five C grades or lower at Higher were accepted to study medicine.

In the academic year of 2003-04 alone, Scottish universities allowed 55 students to study medicine despite falling drastically short of the required grades.

The University of Edinburgh admitted the least number of academically poor students, with just 15 of the 345 being allowed to study with lower grades in the six-year period.

Glasgow University allowed the most, with 105 students given entrance with three Cs or less at A Level between 1997 and 2003.

And three of Scotland’s leading universities accepted students who obtained the equivalent of three D grades at A Level. Glasgow University and Dundee University both accepted 10, while Aberdeen University accepted five D-grade students.

The figures fly in the face of criticism levelled at universities which have been accused of restricting medical student entrants by making entrance grades too high.

The British Medical Association Scotland has called for entry requirements to be slackened to remove "artificial barriers" to studying medicine.

Dr Bill O’Neill, Scottish secretary of the BMA, said: "High academic achievement alone does not make a good doctor.

"There are many other qualities which must be recognised to ensure we are creating a workforce which reflects the society it serves and can best meet the needs of patients.

"There is a current requirement for students to have attained five Higher grades at A Level in one year to qualify for medical school.

"Some schools in Scotland, however, do not allow students to sit five Highers in one year. This automatically discounts students of merit who cannot meet the entry requirements."

The government has set up a number of schemes aimed at widening access to university education for people from deprived backgrounds.

Under the schemes, including AimHigher which is to be extended later this year, universities are offered extra cash to take under-qualified students to help support them through courses.

But the figures from HESA reveal that some of Scotland’s medical schools admitted roughly 5% of entrants with poor grades.

Scotland’s universities admitted they were "baffled" by the figures. A spokesman for Universities Scotland, the umbrella group for the country’s higher education institutions, said: "There is no subject at any university for which there is more pressure for places than medicine. We get 11 applicants to every place and it’s extremely rare to get in with less than five Higher A grades.

"However, universities recognise that the ability to sit exams and the ability to treat patients are not the same thing. Universities try to do what they can to bring in a broad range of students."

A spokesman for the University of Dundee claimed the figures were not detrimental to the reputation of the country’s medical schools.

"They do help show that we have been successful in implementing policies of wider access to courses," he said.

"We are still getting high-quality students and more importantly producing high-quality doctors."

A University of Aberdeen spokeswoman added: "The number of students applying to study the undergraduate programme in medicine has increased dramatically over the past three years. In 2004, we had about 2000 applicants - double the number five years ago.

"With respect to the school grades obtained by successful applicants, almost all school-leavers have always achieved excellent grades.

"They would also have demonstrated a huge potential to secure a future successful career in the medical sector."

A recent report by Sir Kenneth Calman, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, recommended a dramatic increase in the number of places at medical schools to help cope with the demands from the NHS.

In England, undergraduate places have already been increased to help raise the number of new doctors.

Mike Watson, medical director of NHS Education Scotland, said: "There have been major concerns over the potential shortfall in doctors.

"One way of tackling this is to increase the social diversity of medical school intakes so those who have been previously precluded purely because they did not achieve all their Highers in one sitting can have a chance."