Amid disputes over pay and training places, the narrative of an exodus of UK doctors has taken hold—but do the data back this up? Elisabeth Mahase investigates
Years of industrial action1 and numerous surveys23 have shown widespread dissatisfaction among doctors in the UK, with concerns spanning pay, working conditions, and access to and quality of training.4
The BMA has warned that this “toxic cocktail” is making emigration an attractive option to doctors, and a General Medical Council (GMC) survey over the summer suggested that a third of doctors were looking to leave the UK medical profession.5
But while the number of UK doctors looking to move abroad has almost doubled since 2019, data show that an increasing proportion may be opting to stay. Figures shared with The BMJ show that the GMC issued certificates of good standing (CGSs) to 11 384 doctors in the year to 31 July 2025. This is up from 6327 in the 12 months to 31 July 2019.
CGSs are used to confirm to regulators in other countries that a doctor is in good standing with the GMC. Although they don’t show that a doctor has left the country, they do indicate some intention to leave. They remain valid for only three months after being issued.
While the number of CSGs issued is on the rise, the proportion of doctors who were issued one but still registered with a licence to practise in the UK on 6 August 2025—indicating that they had chosen to stay or had gone and then returned—has also increased. Data show that a record 74% of doctors who were issued a CGS up to 31 July 2025 were still in the UK on 6 August. This compares with only 53% of such doctors who were issued certificates in …
