Shortage of doctors feared in response to UK immigration crackdown
November 13 2009 by Liam Clifford
BMA says it fears a shortage in Doctors following Gordon Browns announcement on immgration policy.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says it fears there
may be a shortage of trained medics working in the UK as a result of the changes
to the UK immigration system announced by the Prime Minister
yesterday.
Gordon Brown says that he is planning to tighten the rules
governing the kinds of jobs people from outside the EU can take when moving to
the UK. Thousands of occupations on the shortage list, including hospital
consultants, are to be removed, making the NHS unable to hire doctors from
outside the EU when it needs to, claim critics.
The Scottish government
has been particularly outspoken with its criticism of Brown’s new UK immigration
plans, claiming Brown is “viewing the issue of migration through the narrowest
of south-east English perspectives.”
The BMA’s chairman, Dr Terry John,
added, “The immigration system must be responsive to the needs of the NHS and
flexible enough to recruit overseas doctors where they are needed.”
“There are still hospitals that are unable to fill junior doctor and
consultant vacancies. It is, therefore, important that changes to UK immigration
rules do not damage our ability to recruit the doctors we need to staff our
NHS.”
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