3,000 DOCTORS QUIT THE NHS
Scotland in grip of a ‘brain drain’ crisis as medics head overseas
THOUSANDS of doctors have fled Scotland to work overseas as the country’s NHS recruitment crisis deepens.
Nearly 3,000 Scottish-trained medics have left for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Malaysia and the United States, damning figures reveal.
Hundreds of those who have moved are GPs, sparking concerns last night over rates of recruitment and retention in the profession.
The SNP is accused of presiding over a ‘brain drain’ in Scotland’s NHS, while campaigners warn that without a significant intervention from the Scottish Government, doctors will continue to depart for foreign placements.
The figures show physicians have left for the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East and Europe, as well as south of the Border.
Yesterday, Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘As many as 3,000 Scottishtrained doctors are currently working abroad – setting out starkly the brain drain we have seen in Scotland over the last decade.
‘Every part of the UK has lost doctors to countries like Australia and New Zealand in recent years.
‘But rather than point the finger elsewhere, the SNP must act on these figures and do more to encourage doctors to come back – or not leave in the first place.
‘Scotland’s GPs are at the forefront of our NHS – if we as a country can’t get general practice right and working to deliver health services across Scotland, then the rest of our NHS will continue to be destabilised. That’s
why, this week, our Save our Surgeries campaign will shine a spotlight on the problems we face – and suggest a better way of doing things. The SNP needs to wake up and deliver.’
The figures – obtained from the General Medical Council and published today by the Scottish Conservatives – are part of the Tories’ drive to raise awareness as the NHS struggles with a recruitment crisis.
The research shows that 5,044 Scottish doctors have applied for a Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS) since 2008. This allows medics to work abroad under a new employer.
Of those, 2,149 are still connected to a ‘designated body’, meaning they are probably still practising medicine in Scotland – leaving 2,895 likely to have left for other countries. The figures also show an increase in the number of doctors applying to go abroad. In 2014, 447 medics were issued a CCPS, rising to 663 in 2015 but dipping to 612 last year.
Some 2,214 doctors sought a CCPS to work in Australia, with 994 seeking to move to New Zealand and 342 to Canada.
Of those issued a CCPS since 2008, 985 are GPs. In 2014, 83 family doctors were given the certificate, with 81 obtaining one in 2015 and 96 last year. GPs went as far afield as Bermuda, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Qatar and South Africa. General practice is particularly affected by shortages, with the Royal College of GPs warning Scotland will soon be short of 850 family doctors.
Practices nationwide have warned they are fighting shortfalls, with concerns raised over the cost of locums covering shifts.
Last night Margaret Watt, former chairman of the Scotland Patients Association, said: ‘The Government needs to sort this out, this problem is getting worse.
‘We should be hanging our heads in shame that so many doctors are leaving Scotland.
‘We have a shortage of GPs but we also have shortages right across our NHS and this isn’t getting any better. It’s ridiculous.
‘This has been going on for years and no one is getting to the bottom of the problem.
‘Our NHS staff are under a lot of stress and strain, so of course they are going to leave if they see better pay and circumstances elsewhere. We need to look at pay, at contracts and how we can keep doctors in Scotland because, ultimately, it’s patients who are going to be hit with this.’
Yesterday, Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘The Scottish Government has increased investment in GP services every year since 2007 and we are committed to increasing the share of the NHS budget going to primary care in each year of this parliament.
‘We are also working with the British Medical Association to deliver a new GP contract which will provide a strengthened and clarified role for Scotland’s GPs.’
The Scottish Daily Mail revealed last month that patients trying to see their GP are being screened by receptionists to slash the number of appointments.
They are sent on a half-day course and taught how to direct patients to other health professionals including nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists.
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