British medical body hails Lords ruling on Indian doctors

The BMA, which is a registered trade union of doctors in UK, said after the ruling that the change in rules was “unfair” for the overseas doctors already working in the NHS.

“It’s right that we have a debate about the numbers of doctors coming to the UK in future, but it’s completely wrong to scapegoat those already here,” Terry John, Chairman of the BMA’s International Committee said.

“They are providing a vital service, and the government’s continued attempts to change the rules after they’ve already committed themselves to the NHS are unfair,” he said.

John said that junior doctors from the UK and overseas alike had been affected by the lack of proper workforce planning in the NHS.

“We need long-term solutions not knee-jerk reactions,” he said.

Buddhdev Pandya, Advisor of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) that successfully challenged the discriminatory rules, termed it “appalling” that the NHS did not heed to the advice by the organisation.

There was a general feeling among medical professionals that the April 2006 guidelines regulations were ill thought-out, and were allegedly an attempt to rush through for political expediency rather than improving effective skills management, he added.