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The British Medical Association is concerned that clinical academic numbers are falling when medical student numbers are rising steeply ("BMA warns of research-mad medical schools", THES , January 30). As a result, medical education is shifting towards the National Health Service. If the only way to increase resources for teaching in the NHS was by transferring a greater proportion of funding to the Department of Health, I would not object.

The BMA has not taken a position on proposals for all undergraduate medical education to be funded by the DoH, and there are strong arguments against this. One advantage of this trend is to improve integration between the NHS and universities. Doctors should be able to move more freely between the NHS and universities.

Michael Rees
Chairman
Medical academics committee
British Medical Association