A SALISBURY GP is calling for changes in the way medical students are funded to enable more people from poor backgrounds to join the profession.

Dr Helena McKeown will tell the British Medical Association’s annual conference in Brighton today that the likely removal of the cap on tuition fees could leave medical graduates facing a “nightmare” of £90,000 debts, taking three decades to pay off.

She wants a system of “forgivable loans” – meaning that student doctors write off their debts by working for a certain number of years in the NHS.

Dr McKeown, a former district councillor, a partner at the Three Swans surgery and a member of the BMA Council, said only 13 per cent of medical students come from the three lowest socio-economic groups.

“Students from non-traditional backgrounds have a vast amount to offer the medical profession. They more fully understand the needs of the communities they grew up in, and can play a powerful role in educating their peers.

“They are more likely to choose to return to work in difficult, deprived or hard-to-access communities. They can also act as role models.

“A system of forgivable loans could unleash the aspiration of caring, compassionate, intelligent applicants and ensure that they are not deterred from entering the profession due to financial reasons.”