We take doctors from Third World Countries

I listened to a radio programme recently about doctors from an eastern European country, (cannot remember which one) when 21 out of 23 newly qualified doctors were applying for (not recruited ) posts in Britain and other prosperous European countries , because a) the salary was much higher and b) they could develop their training beyond that offered by their own country.
I also heard about a tranche of British medical students who had chosen to train in Wales because the fees were lower and it was easier to get a place. Not one was prepared to stay in Wales when training was completed.

We don’t have forced labour in the UK. People can take their skills anywhere they wish.

Lathyrus no magic solutions I'm afraid, because it needs the kind of international co-operation that seems to be failing at the moment. It would be a good start if our government whoever is in power! Takes international co-operation to resolve the Big Issues seriously like we used to at least attempt to do so. There are so many things that break my heart - like huge numbers of people in Somalia starving right now and hardly a whisper the news.

but a good start is to train up enough doctors ourselves

- I'd also like us to seriously join international organisations that could, for example, try to extract some money/resources in Nigeria from the gigantic profits being made from the oil there, little if any of which goes back into the economy generally (just to the rich of Nigeria and international investors) for funding basic health services.

personally all I can do is give to Medicins Sans Frontiere and hope they can do what they can.

Gransnet may have deleted paddyanne54's original post, but we see what it said. What a nasty and inaccurate post! I know who should be ashamed of whom. I hope you get a sincere apology and recant SueDonim

The son of a family I know were very grateful their son managed to qualify as a doctor in one of the eastern European countries, I can't remember exactly which. It was the only way they could afford the still huge cost of his training. He is now a house doctor in our NHS. The country where he studied trains far more doctors than they need, they see it as an income source. Not all foreign trained doctors are being poached from where they're needed.

My ex-husband, my brother and now, my son, work/worked for the NHS. When we (husband and I), came here in the 70s, the Welsh Valleys were crying out for GPs, because the local Graduates, did not want to work there. They preferred the more glamorous Practices in England.
I quote easybee ‘ ….. Not one was prepared to stay in Wales when training was completed’.
And that is why we have to recruit medical graduates from abroad .

The typical salary for a GP is £70-100k full time, that does not sound like low pay and I know many work limited hours. I’m sure at times it can be stressful many jobs are like that for a lot less pay.
Nurses have similar responsibilities for half the pay of a GP I did 38 yrs as a Nurse / Midwife so I know about stress doing 12 hour shifts

Katie59

The typical salary for a GP is £70-100k full time, that does not sound like low pay and I know many work limited hours. I’m sure at times it can be stressful many jobs are like that for a lot less pay.
Nurses have similar responsibilities for half the pay of a GP I did 38 yrs as a Nurse / Midwife so I know about stress doing 12 hour shifts

It is low pay compared to an equivalent level of training and responsibility in the private sector. Name another job where you study for 6 years at degree level, are in compulsory training roles for a further 6 years, do exams to proceed to the next level, have to work on call, can be sued for any errors you make - and are subject to regular abuse as well.

Thank you, Rosie, Casdon and others who’ve written supportive posts.

There are a lot of misconceptions about doctors. Most people don’t realise that student doctors are essentially working for free in the latter years of their training, as they build up their clinical skills. All newly-qualified British doctors have to do a minimum of two years in the NHS or they will not be registered. They can’t move into private care or go abroad to work, because they’re still not fully qualified until two years post-grad and won’t get jobs.

The system is appalling - I’ve said before that I would not want to be the patient coming into A&E who is seen by a doctor in their 75th hour of work that week. Nor would I want to be one of the 300 surgical patients just two junior doctors fresh out of med school are caring for overnight.

My dd is of the Covid cohort, who qualified in spring 2020 and were thrown into the burgeoning pandemic with no PPE. The chickens are coming home to roost now, more than two years on, with doctors her age dropping out or changing course in their droves. They’ve been told that they’ll be studied for research for the rest of their careers, which is an extraordinary thing in itself.