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Majority of UK trainee doctors plan emigration after graduation
| Published: | 5 Apr at 6 PM |
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Over half of second year medical students at Birmingham University are planning to find jobs in overseas hospitals after they graduate.
It seems the reason for the potential mass emigration of newly-qualified doctors, nurses and technicians is the new contract already responsible for strike action amongst junior doctors all over the UK. The students’ response to a question posed by a university lecturer is a warning to the government and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The controversial new contract covering the employment of junior doctors is under fire by medical professionals as they fear the longer working hours it introduces will lead to a lowering of safety standards, putting patients at risk. Its opponents also state that the manner in which overtime is calculated will lead to an unacceptable drop in salaries across the board.
The unnamed lecturer told a mainstream UK newspaper that many of her students are planning to find positions in Welsh or Scottish hospitals as well as considering major moves to New Zealand or Australia. Escalating criticism of the plan, part of the government’s pledge to provide a seven-day-a-week HNS service, includes doctors’ working unsociable hours with no pay and not enough rest between shifts.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has launched a legal challenge against the government, saying the proposed new contract is unfair and unsafe. As part of its argument it points out that an Equality Impact Assessment was not carried out before the contract was issued, in order to ensure that no-one affected by the contract is disadvantaged. According to the BMA, its action is a last-ditch attempt to encourage negotiation with the government in order to avert to avert a full-on strike by junior doctors.
Should the new contract be introduced, it’s likely that many junior doctors will follow in the footsteps of recent graduates and apply for positions in hospitals overseas. Many will make new lives abroad, and may never return to the UK. The loss of these dedicated professionals to the already failing NHS is likely to result in unsuitably qualified immigrants joining the medical workforce, many of whom may be less than fluent in English.
It seems the reason for the potential mass emigration of newly-qualified doctors, nurses and technicians is the new contract already responsible for strike action amongst junior doctors all over the UK. The students’ response to a question posed by a university lecturer is a warning to the government and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The controversial new contract covering the employment of junior doctors is under fire by medical professionals as they fear the longer working hours it introduces will lead to a lowering of safety standards, putting patients at risk. Its opponents also state that the manner in which overtime is calculated will lead to an unacceptable drop in salaries across the board.
The unnamed lecturer told a mainstream UK newspaper that many of her students are planning to find positions in Welsh or Scottish hospitals as well as considering major moves to New Zealand or Australia. Escalating criticism of the plan, part of the government’s pledge to provide a seven-day-a-week HNS service, includes doctors’ working unsociable hours with no pay and not enough rest between shifts.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has launched a legal challenge against the government, saying the proposed new contract is unfair and unsafe. As part of its argument it points out that an Equality Impact Assessment was not carried out before the contract was issued, in order to ensure that no-one affected by the contract is disadvantaged. According to the BMA, its action is a last-ditch attempt to encourage negotiation with the government in order to avert to avert a full-on strike by junior doctors.
Should the new contract be introduced, it’s likely that many junior doctors will follow in the footsteps of recent graduates and apply for positions in hospitals overseas. Many will make new lives abroad, and may never return to the UK. The loss of these dedicated professionals to the already failing NHS is likely to result in unsuitably qualified immigrants joining the medical workforce, many of whom may be less than fluent in English.
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