Easington MP Grahame Morris, a long-serving member of the Health Select Committee in the last Parliament, is concerned about the future of GP services.

He is particularly worried about the impact on places like East Durham.

“I am concerned about the future of GP services as one in three GPs are considering retirement over the next five years. If we do not take preventative action there will be a crisis in GP provision that will disproportionately impact areas of high deprivation which are already most likely to be suffering from a shortage of GPs, despite the significant health challenges faced by these communities.”

Only a few weeks ago a new initiative aimed at persuading more family doctors to work in the North-East was launched by the NHS in the Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield.

Applicants from across the UK are being invited to apply for ten salaried GP posts based in the area. The hope is that after two years of funding they will decide to apply to become partners in established practices.

But Mr Morris believes that we should take a more long-term view to the problem.

“I want to work with the British Medical Association to explore the only long-term solution to addressing the GP shortage in areas like East Durham, which is through raising aspirations and encouraging more people from our communities to go into medicine.”

The MP believes that a new generation of local GPs “who share an affinity with local people” would be more likely to have a personal interest in improving the health of their own community.

To some extent there is already a programme to encourage what is termed as “non-traditional” entry into medicine – the Foundation and Gateway programmes offered by Durham University – while Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences is also involved in promoting medicine as a career option in North-East schools.

Durham University’s Foundation Programme is for students from ‘diverse backgrounds’ who wish to study medicine while the Gateway to Medicine Programme is for students from under-represented groups whose predicted A level grades do not meet the standard entry requirement for a five year medicine degree but may still prove to be good candidates.

Durham University says roughly 10 to 15 of the 100 students starting the full Durham medicine programme each year have come via the Foundation or Gateway routes.

One of these ‘not-traditional’ students is Natasha King, 29, from Peterlee, East Durham.

The former call centre worker and single mum is in her second year of a five year medical degree in Durham University.

Natasha studied at East Durham College in 2011-12 on a one-year access to higher education course while working in a local call centre. After successfully completing this course, with distinctions, Natasha was offered a place on Durham University’s one-year foundation course. After successfully completing this course she was offered a place to study medicine on the five year MBBS Medical Programme at the university’s Queen’s Campus in Stockton.

Natasha agrees with Grahame Morris that more should be done to encourage bright students from places like East Durham to seriously consider studying medicine.

“People should not be put off applying. I think it is very achievable if people get the support they need and I have to say I had a lot of support. The college and the university have both been amazing in the way they have supported me,” she says.

She also agrees with the MP that newly qualified GPs who agree to work in areas where there is an acute need should have their tuition fee debts paid by the Government.

In Natasha’s case, financial factors loomed large. “I am a single mum and I wanted to provide something better for my son, Isaac,” she says.

“People go to where the money is and with five years of medical training racking up a lot of debt, having some sort of incentive scheme would definitely help,” she adds.

While she urges others to reach for the sky she warns them they have to expect to work hard and have the ability to pass very tough exams.

If all goes well Natasha should qualify as a doctor in 2018 but it will be another five years after that before she is a fully trained GP.

“I find it really appealing that my GP looked after me, my mum and my grandparents. The continuity is really important,” she adds.