UK reliance on Indian docs to rise post-brexit

Britain has long relied on Indian doctors to run its National Health Service (NHS) since it was founded in 1948, and the dependence is likely to increase after its exit from the European Union , as Eu-trained doctors will no longer have the right to work here.

India is the largest source country of doctors in the NHS, after Britain: at present, there are 25,281 doctors in the NHS who gained their medical qualifications in India.

However, the nature of migration of Indian doctors has changed over the years. From thousands coming to Britain to work and settle, the recent trend sees them coming to train and then returning, as the growing Indian health sector provides more opportunities.

Ramesh Mehta, president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (Bapio), said on Wednesday that the experience of Indian doctors in the NHS had not always been positive, but revealed that new systems had been put in place to improve the situation.

“Britain’s historical dependence on India for doctors and health professionals will increase after Brexit. Many patients died when Eu-trained doctors with poor English and other skills worked in the NHS, but they could not be barred as the UK is a member of the EU”.

Mehta told HT: “But after Brexit, they will not have the automatic right to work, which will turn the NHS more towards India to meet the vacancies, given the better clinical and language skills of India doctors”.

Figures show that Indian doctors are the most complained against among non-eu trained doctors. A new report by experts at the University College London revealed that they are five times more likely to face inquiries than their Uk-trained counterparts.

However, Mehta said the data used in the UCL study was until 2013 and a new standard put in place in all hospitals was changing the situation. Since 2014, all NHS organisations are mandated to follow the Workforce Race Equality Standard that seeks to ensure employees from minority ethnic communities receive fair treatment in the workplace.

According to latest General Medical Council data, only 695 new Indian doctors registered in Britain in 2016, following the dwindling numbers per year since the high of 3,640 in 2004.

Mehta said that under a new programme, Indian doctors will come to Britain on a rotation basis for two or three years and return after gaining experience. “We are partnering with the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences and other Indian universities to send new graduates. It is a win-win situation for both : the UK gets doctors to fill vacancies and India benefits from its doctors’ training here,” he added.