Now, Indian docs need work permit in UK

Making work permit mandatory for non-European doctors to work in the National Health Service NHS of the UK government has brought panic among the Indian doctors.

Making work permit mandatory for non-European doctors to work in the National Health Service NHS of the UK government has brought panic among the Indian doctors.

The change in rule is expected to hit some 4,000 Indian doctors working there, besides some 850 unemployed doctors hoping to get training assignment. The decision announced by the UK Health Department makes it almost impossible for Indian doctors to get a job with the NHS.

Taken aback by the decision, the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, which has a membership of 25,000 members, will hold a demonstration in front of Richmond House, the seat of the UK Department of Health.

So far, doctors from the non-European Union countries, including India, were able to take up NHS jobs under 8216;8216;permit-free working schemes8217;8217;. Since their jobs were considered part of training, they did not need work permits.

The Health Department has put an end to this scheme on April 7 for non-EU doctors. In future, international medical graduates as well as the non-European doctors who want to work with NHS will need a work permit.

To obtain work permit, an employer must show that a 8216;8216;genuine vacancy exists, which cannot be filled by a resident worker.8217;8217;

At present, there are 117,036 overseas doctors, including 16,000 NRI doctors, working in the British government-funded NHS.

Story continues below this ad

NHS, facing an acute shortage of manpower in 2000, had started hiring overseas workers. Initially, its plan was to hire 7,500 consultants and 2,000 general physicians. 8216;8216;We now have more than 1,17,000 doctors working in NHS, besides a number of doctors training in UK medical schools,8217;8217; UK Health Minister Lord Warner said.

8216;8216;The regulation has created an atmosphere of gloom among the international medical graduates. Since jobs will be offered on the basis of nationality and not on merit, there is a feeling of dismay among the medical fraternity,8217;8217; said Dr Sateesh Mathew, lead organiser of the protest and consultant paediatrician, Newsham University Hospital London. 8216;8216;The permit free training was abolished without any warning or consultation,8217;8217; he added.

Officials at the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs said the Ministry is yet to get a formal representation from the doctors association in the UK.