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UK docs
oppose curbs on Indians
WSN Network
LONDON: Britain's medical community has resoundingly voted to oppose
the government's proposal to restrict the employment opportunities
for Indian and other non-European Union doctors in the National
Health Service (NHS).
In a survey conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA) this
week, members voted to oppose tighter restrictions on the employment
opportunities of overseas doctors and medical students.
Britain's Health Minister Ben Bradshaw has recently drawn up
proposals to slash the number of junior doctors from overseas coming
to Britain to train. The idea is to preserve jobs for the rising
number of British medical graduates.
The proposal is that doctors from countries outside the EU should
not be considered for a job unless there are no qualified applicants
from Britain or from elsewhere in Europe. This is an unlikely
scenario given the popularity of medical training in Britain and the
EU.
During the recent rounds of recruitment to the NHS, several hundred
British doctors who could not find employment left the country as
the issue snowballed into a major public controversy through
demonstrations and petitions.
There is also a proposal that fresh British medical graduates would
automatically get a first-year hospital training place on
graduation, which would give them a head start over even other
European candidates.
But BMA's survey released at a conference this week revealed that
almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the 737 doctors and medical
students surveyed believe that overseas students graduating from UK
medical schools should not be prevented from competing for training
jobs.
Over half (57.4 percent) think that doctors who qualified overseas
should be entitled to compete for training posts with UK graduates,
although most of these thought that this should apply only to those
already working in the NHS.
Hamish Meldrum, chairman of council at the BMA, said: "The
government has made a mess of medical training. It appears they are
now trying to penalise the thousands of overseas doctors and medical
students who want to work in the NHS."
Other key findings of the survey include: Half of respondents oppose
the idea of a national computerised examination on entry to core
specialist training; Eight in 10 respondents agree with
recommendations that medical career structures should be the same
across the UK
In a separate submission to the Department of Health's consultation
on proposals to restrict employment opportunities to overseas
doctors, the BMA said the proposals were 'unfair'.
The BMA said in its submission that "medical immigration" should be
better controlled in future, but was concerned for the welfare of
thousands of doctors and medical students from overseas who are
already in the UK.
Terry John, chair of the BMA's International Committee, said:
"Long-term, the UK should be able to produce its own medical
workforce and managing medical immigration in the future will be
necessary.
"However, the thousands of overseas junior doctors currently
providing essential services in UK hospitals must not be scapegoated
for the government's poor workforce planning. They came to the UK in
good faith, and the honest expectation of training opportunities in
the NHS."
The BMA is particularly concerned about overseas students currently
spending large amounts of money - an average of 23,000 pounds a year
during their clinical years - to study at UK medical schools.
John added: "International medical students are often making huge
personal and financial sacrifices in order to study in the UK. If
they are not allowed to apply for postgraduate training posts, and
are forced to return home, they could face a huge struggle in
repaying outstanding debts."
The BMA said it was aware that this would also adversely affect UK
medical schools, which rely heavily on income from overseas
students.
7 November, 2007
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