Let foreign docs in to fix GP crisis

Ministers urged to beat shortage by cutting red tape

DOCTORS are calling for urgent talks with the Government to ease restrictions on overseas GPs.

Foreign doctors trying to work in Britain are facing “too many bureaucratic barriers” despite our shortage.

There is little sign the Tories are honouring a 2015 manifesto pledge to provide 5,000 new GPs. Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently upped the figure to 6,000.

The TUC estimated the NHS needs 9,000 more family doctors to tackle the crisis. The Sunday Mirror is campaigning for more trainee GPs, shorter surgery waiting times and better conditions to stop experienced doctors quitting the NHS.

Dr Richard Vautrey, of the British Medical Association, said: “The current recruitment crisis means we are heavily reliant on GPs coming here from overseas.”

Most are from Australia, Canada and the Indian subcontinent but they are held back by an overcomplicated immigration process.

Dr Vautrey, who wants 11 per cent of NHS funding in general practice, said: “The immigration and medical regulatory system still has far too many bureaucratic barriers.”

He added: “Streamlining the system must be a priority for politicians if we are to see a tangible improvement in numbers.”

Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “The Tories claimed they would recruit another 5,000 GPs but instead we lost 1,600. How can we trust them to recruit an extra 6,000 GPs now?”

The crisis in our health service starts at the front line, the family doctor.

The GP is an absolute cornerstone of the National Health Service, the first stop for all ages from cradle to grave.

It is a service that is essential to personal health, and to the economy of the country.

With a shortage of at least 9,000 GPs, Tory promises of more on the way are not enough.

Government action on over-complicated red tape preventing overseas doctors from coming here to ease the gap is long overdue.