Scotland is experiencing a shortage of cadavers because of an increase in the number of students studying medicine, with surgical colleges even having to cancel training courses because the demand for bodies is so high.
In his 2023-2024 report to government Ministers, Professor Gordon Findlater, who is HM Inspector of Anatomy for Scotland, noted that the University of Edinburgh in particular had a “serious problem” in meeting this demand.
According to the Scotland Deanery, which is responsible for training doctors, there were 5 930 medical students in the 2023-24 academic year, reports the BBC.
This was up from 5 645 the year before, and up from 3 928 in 2015-16.
In 2016 the Scottish Government said it would increase the number of medical school places by 190 over five years as part of efforts to tackle a shortage in doctors.
Three years later it pledged to prioritise recruiting more medical students from Scotland over those from elsewhere in the UK, in the hope that the move would ensure more doctors stayed in the country after finishing their training.
Findlater carried out inspections at a number of medical premises including those at the universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews.
Anatomy departments had accepted 290 bodies over the academic year and rejected 178. There were only nine more bodies accepted this year compared with the year before, when there were 285 fewer students.
Findlater noted that the increasing demand for bodies due to rising student numbers was already “having an impact on the surgical colleges who are now having to cancel training courses due to medical schools having to meet their own needs first before that of the colleges”.
In reference to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, he said sourcing cadavers to meet the demand for courses was a serious issue.
In Scotland, under a new system, everyone is now an organ donor unless they opt out.
Under the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006, universities can keep a body for up to three years, though they can keep body parts for longer if the donor gives their permission.
BBC article – Corpse shortage due to rise in Scottish medical students – report (Open access)
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