An ambitious plan by China to increase its doctor numbers by nearly 40 per cent during the next five years faces a severe test as medical graduates choose other professions because of low pay and overwork.

China’s ageing population and growing burden from conditions such as cancer and diabetes is leaving its underfunded public hospitals, the first port of call for most patients, increasingly strained. In response, China is hoping to rely more on general practitioners, known as family doctors.

The State Council announced a five-year health plan last week that aims to increase average life expectancy by one year to 77.3 years by the end of 2020. It called for an increase in the number of doctors from the current level of 1.5 per 1,000 citizens to more than two by 2020. That compares with figures of 1.9 in Brazil and 2.8 in Britain.