Hi Edward
By way of a quick comment, yes it is true that there is a surfeit of doctors
from all over the world seeking and not finding work in the UK. Not too long
ago, there was a marked shortage but this has largely been filled by medics
from every corner of the world who rushed in quickly. Indeed, some doctors
from the Philippines have retrained to become nurses with the hope of
staying on in the country! A second point is that there is a seasonal
element to job availability. By January each year, the local health
authorities have run out of money for the year and have to wait until the
next financial year from April 5, to utilise new money. Until then,
virtually all jobs are frozen.
The current situation is also deeply upsetting to home grown doctors who
can't get jobs either and are very angry indeed. Unlike say, Canada, the UK
does not treat new UK trained doctors as deserving of any special treatment
for essential training purposes and they become major losers against more
experienced doctors from elsewhere who tend to get jobs when available. In
this respect, the market for doctors and most other professionals here has
become truly globalised. Moreover, local young UK trained doctors do not see
reciprocal opportunities for them in most of the places from where doctors
gravitate to the UK. For a host of reasons it is largely one way traffic at
present to UK's current booming economy. Thus, 400 plus applications for a
single basic medical job have become regular features here. The supply side
far exceeds the demand in the equation currently.
Regards
Cornel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Edward Verdes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Goanet" <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 9:10 AM
Subject: [Goanet] Indian doctors in Britain are a poor, depressed lot
Wednesday, February 08, 2006 12:51:25 pmIANS ]
LONDON: They came, they saw, they became depressed - that, in short, is
the
story of thousands of young unemployed doctors from the Indian
subcontinent
in Britain, hoping against hope to get a job in the National Health
Service
(NHS).
Living almost in poverty, the doctors - estimated to be nearly 6,000 -
have
been reduced to partaking free meals in temples and gurdwaras across
Britain. Some have been forced to take up whatever work they can find: in
petrol stations or fast-food chains or as supermarket attendants.
They all have a message to their counterparts in India who might be
considering moving to Britain: think twice, the job market for overseas
doctors is no longer as bright here as it used to be until a few years
ago.
Read more:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1405884,curpg-1.cms
