One family doctor in five is from overseas

2,500 more than 10 years ago

THE number of GPs from abroad is up by almost a fifth in a decade as the NHS tries to combat a shortage of staff.

Foreigners now account for almost one family doctor in five although in some areas the proportion is more than two-thirds.

Senior doctors say the number will rise further over the next few years because the NHS is so short of homegrown medics.

Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that 22.3 per cent of current GPs gained their qualifications overseas, up from 18.8 per cent in 2004.

But the figure is 71 per cent in Barking and Dagenham, east London, 63 per cent in Medway, Kent, and 58 per cent in North Lincolnshire.

The NHS is facing a shortage because many GPs are retiring early. others are moving overseas in search of better conditions.

The Royal College of GPs estimates that the NHS will need to hire at least 8,000 more doctors over the next five years to keep pace with a rising, and ageing, population.

The NHS employs 40,584 GPs, of whom 9,050 are from overseas. This is up from 6,550 in 2004 when there were 34,855 family doctors in total.

Dr Richard Vautrey, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said: ‘We need GPs from around the world to support the Health Service, and we simply don’t train enough.

‘We need to encourage more students and junior doctors to choose general practice, and to expose them more to general practice, so they see it more as an attractive option for the future.’

The figures do not state where the foreign GPs trained but separate data from the General Medical Council shows many are from India, Pakistan, South Africa and Nigeria.

earlier this year ukip leader Nigel Farage sparked controversy by claiming that foreign GPs should not work for the NHS because they lack good english. He said: ‘Don’t we want to live in a country where we speak the same language? And isn’t it scandalous that we are not training enough nurses and doctors in our own country?’

Dr Maureen Baker, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: ‘The NHS – general practice included – is staffed by hardworking healthcare professionals from all over the world. We are very grateful for the work that doctors from overseas are doing.’