Nearly third of doctors in Wales trained abroad

THE Welsh NHS would “grind to a halt” without the expertise of foreign-trained doctors who now make up nearly a third of the entire workforce, it is claimed.

Latest figures from the Welsh Government show that of the 8,789 doctors working in Wales in 2015, 2,651 (30.2%) trained abroad.

The most common foreign country in which to have qualified was India (1,075), which equates to around an eighth of all doctors based in Wales.

This was followed by 279 who trained in Pakistan, 115 in Egypt and 101 in Iraq.

It is also fairly common to find Walesbased doctors who trained in Ireland (96), Germany (76), as well as South Africa and Sri Lanka (61 each).

The figures include doctors in primary care, such as GPs, and those in secondary care such as hospital consultants.

Organisations and political parties say the statistics reaffirm how vital overseas doctors are to the NHS workforce in Wales.

But they also warn that Wales needs to start training more doctors urgently to improve staffing levels for the future and ensure patient safety.

Dr Hasmukh Shah, who has worked as a GP the Rhondda Valleys for last 30 years, trained in MS University of Baroda in Gujarat state, India.

He is also the secretary of British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) Wales division which champions the work of Indian doctors based in Wales.

“Many services in NHS Wales would have struggled to provide effective care to their patients without overseas-trained doctors,” he said.

“Overseas doctors have for many years made a valuable and important contribution to the NHS in Wales in primary, secondary and community care.”

He said there is an “historic shortage” of UK-trained doctors in secondary care, especially consultants posts in emergency care, haematology and old-age psychiatry.

He added: “In primary care for the last many years overseas doctors have worked in highly-deprived areas of Wales where workload is high and patients problems are complex due to deprivation, poverty and mental health issues.

“Also overseas doctors have provided effective services in out-of-hours emergency care helping to reduce already stretched A&E departments.

“BAPIO has good support from Welsh Government and we are working together to address issues of recruitment.”

Earlier this month the Assembly’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee voiced concerns about the “low and declining numbers” of students living in Wales applying to study medicine.

Despite some improvement during the 2017 application round, the number of applicants from Welsh domiciled students is still considerably lower than other parts of the UK.

Dr Phil Banfield, chairman of the British Medical Association’s Welsh Council, claims Wales is facing “unprecedented challenges” in the recruitment and retention of doctors.

He said: “We believe that those who train in Wales are more likely to stay here in the longer term, but we must ensure that the NHS is geared to fulfilling training needs where possible in Wales, and where it is not, that the NHS is an attractive place to live and work in the longer term, through valuing its doctors as experts and leaders in healthcare.

“We would like to see as many Welsh domiciled students that meet the entry criteria to consider medicine, and are keen to support initiatives that widen access to medicine as a career.”

The Royal College of GPs (RCGP) says it “strongly welcomes” doctors from the EU and further afield who want to work in Welsh general practice. But they say Brexit could make the future of EU doctors working in Wales uncertain and have sought assurance that they will be protected.

A spokeswoman for the RCGP said: “Many GPs from overseas already work alongside Welsh or UK-trained GPs, and we are incredibly grateful for their skills and expertise.

“We also need the position of EU GPs already working in Welsh or UK general practice to be safeguarded beyond doubt as part of Brexit negotiations – and we are calling for GPs to be added to the Migration Advisory Committee’s shortage occupation list, to make it easier for family doctors from overseas who want to live here and work in UK general practice to do so.”

Plaid Cymru’s health and social care spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said foreign-trained doctors make an “enormous contribution” to keeping the wheels of the NHS moving – and without them the NHS would grind to a halt. He added: “But Wales still has a shortage of doctors, and that is why as well as attracting those from other parts of the world, we need to train more doctors here in Wales.”

The Welsh Government has launched international recruitment campaigns to encourage medical staff to live, work and train in Wales.

It has also appealed to recently-qualified GPs, those in the early stages of their career and experienced GPs who may wish to work differently or return to the workforce in Wales.