THE MOST COMMON NATIONALITIES
of doctors working in the UK
J UST six in every 10 doctors in the UK are British, new data suggests. Figures disclosed by the General Medical Council under freedom of information laws show that, as of 2017, there were 107,620 British doctors out of a total of 172,938 whose nationality was declared.
A further 23,126 doctors come from other countries in the European Union, while 42,192 come from the rest of the world.
There are a further 64,107 doctors whose nationality was not declared in the figures.
Indians make up the biggest group of foreign doctors in the NHS, with 14,350 in all.
That is eight per cent of all foreign doctors with a known nationality.
Pakistani doctors account for roughly four per cent of those on the register, with 6,226 in total.
EU countries with the most licensed doctors practising in the UK are Ireland (5,066), Greece (3,198) and Germany (2,166).
Other nationalities in the top ten include the 2,967 Nigerian doctors, 2,404 Malaysian doctors, and 1,715 Egyptian doctors.
The British Medical Association (BMA) raised concerns in a recent manifesto on how Brexit will impact international doctors choosing to practise medicine in the UK. BMA chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “The challenges posed to our health service by Brexit are considerable. “From the workforce and Northern Ireland, to regulation and research, there is barely a part of the health service that will be unaffected by the UK’s decision to leave the EU.” The manifesto calls for permanent residence for doctors from the European Economic Area (EEA), medical academic staff and the families of those currently working in the UK.
It comes as 45% of doctors from EEA countries - EU countries plus Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland - say they are considering leaving the UK while 18% say they have already made plans to do so.
The government has also said there will be no change to the status of EEA nationals already working in the NHS once the UK leaves the European Union. The Department of Health says it has already increased training places for both doctors and nurses. Sources at the department said the NHS needed to prioritise finding more home-grown staff. Doctors with nationalities other than British could have completed their training in Britain through international studying programmes. If not, then they must have compatible medical degrees and have passed an English language proficiency test to be accepted on the register.