General practice training should be “more flexible” and use modern technology, according to a major new report.

Trainees could have “innovative” placements with charities and services such as mental health services for children and adolescents, according to Health Education England, which says that mental health training must be a priority. The report avoids the question of the length of training, which the Royal College of GPs says should be extended to five years.

There should also be leadership opportunities and measures to improve cancer diagnosis, it says. And trainees should have greater exposure to training in public health so they understand about delivering population health improvement, the report says. It says increased use of new technologies such as simulations, live-streaming and virtual training academy should be introduced in GP training.

HEE says its report *Training the Future GP* has been developed through extensive engagement with trainees and their educators along with patients and its ideas have been tested in regional pilot programmes.

Professor Simon Gregory, medical director for primary and integrated care at HEE, said: “This report seeks to revitalise GP training by outlining a vision for a future of sustainable general practice careers, ready to best deliver the established curriculum through quality GP training programmes and placements, delivered within available capacity. Primary care remains the foundation of universal healthcare and our NHS. The world is changing at unprecedented rates and our future GPs must be equipped with the right skills and resources to meet the ever-shifting needs of their patients. At this challenging time for the profession it has also never been more important for them to see the potential for a fulfilling and rewarding career in general practice.”

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs said: “We are pleased to see the focus in this report on continuing to support GPs to become experts in delivering holistic care and recognising their individual training needs, while preparing them for the priorities of modern practice, particularly tackling local health needs and delivering high quality complex care in growing areas of need, such as mental health, new technology applied to primary care, and health inequalities. What this report does highlight is the ever-growing breadth of general practice – and it’s key that as new elements are incorporated into GP, more established but still relevant and important ones are not overlooked. It adds weight to the College’s long-standing calls to extend GP training to four or five years (in line with the Health and Social Care Select Committee recommendations) to reflect what is required to practise independently in the UK. It’s also why the College would like to see an expansion of early career fellowships to support newly qualified GPs with elements of practice that may not be comprehensively covered in current training.”

Dr David Smith, chair of the British Medical Association GP trainees committee chair, said: “This report contains some well-intentioned ideas and initiatives, some of which will be cautiously well received by GP trainees, but overall it still skirts around some of the key pressures impacting training and general practice more widely. For years the BMA’s GP committee and trainees committee has been saying that to fully-qualify as GPs, trainees need as much experience as possible in the practice, so while the fairly recent move to two years in a GP setting is positive, it’s incredibly frustrating to hear HEE itself admit that to increase this further is being blocked by lack of capacity and funding. The answer here is therefore clear: invest more in practices so they have the space and resources to do this.