Doctors could qualify more quickly after Brexit to help solve the staffing shortages in the NHS, a health minister has said.

Britain's membership of the EU means medical students have to undergo five years of training before they are registered as doctors.

But after Brexit Britain will be free to set its own rules - with ministers considering options which would allow some students to qualify in less time.

Stephen Barclay, a Health Minister who voted for Brexit at the referendum in 2016, said the NHS could gain advantages from leaving the EU. But patients’ groups said the proposals could threaten safety, and warned against any “dumbing down” of training.

Mr Barclay told Friday's edition of Chopper’s Brexit Podcast he wanted to see the positives from Brexit for the NHS, criticising some of the “hysteria” around the prospect of medicine shortages if the UK leaves without a deal.

One idea being considered by ministers is to bring forward the “point of registration” at which medical students officially qualify to practise to save millions of pounds, which could be invested in training more staff.

The proposal - first proposed by an independent review in 2013 - would provide all British graduates with a medical qualification as soon as they leave medical school. Currently this is granted after a year of working as a junior doctor.