Last week the idea of training nurses to become doctors by doing ‘part time degrees’ was raised under radical proposals to increase the number of medics.

On Wednesday, Health officials said they was looking at ways to help attract nurses, pharmacists and physio’s to train to become doctors while they earned. This is to help the worryingly low levels of doctors within the NHS, and with the ever approaching Brexit, this drop does not look like its ending anytime soon.

Head of Health Education England, Ian Cummings, said “the concept of part-time medical degrees” was among a number of idea’s up for discussion to combat staffing levels.

This would sit alongside Jeremy Hunt’s plans to expand the number of medical school places by a quarter to make the health service ‘self-sufficient’ by 2025, with the number of staff from elsewhere in Europe set to fall.

Prof Cumming said the NHS should encourage those already working in the service to consider a career in medicine, Pulse magazine reported.

“If you’re a physician associate, or a pharmacist, or a physiotherapist or a nurse, why can’t you work for two or three days a week in that role and study medicine for two or three days a week and gain your medical degree that way?” he told board members.

Earlier this week, the head of the NHS revealed plans to recruit 2,000 GPs from overseas, in a bid to plug growing shortages.

Simon Stevens said the health service must recruit foreign doctors on an “industrial scale” to improve access to GPs and cut waiting times.