Medical colleges condemn scrapping of NHS placements for overseas doctors
Summary
The NHS in the UK has ended the Medical Training Initiative (MTI), a program that allowed 400 to 500 overseas doctors annually to train in British hospitals for up to two years. Medical groups say the scheme helped both the NHS and the doctors’ home countries, but NHS England ended it after a review found issues like some doctors staying in the UK and unfair pay.Key Facts
- The Medical Training Initiative let doctors from countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal train in the UK NHS for up to two years.
- About 400 to 500 foreign-trained doctors joined the NHS each year through this program.
- The MTI cost NHS England £176,000 annually and operated since 2011.
- An internal NHS England review said the program didn’t meet its goals because some doctors stayed in the UK and didn’t improve healthcare back home.
- The review found evidence that foreign doctors were paid less than UK doctors for the same work.
- Medical royal colleges criticized the sudden end of the MTI, warning it could worsen NHS doctor shortages.
- Doctors already in the program or who applied before March can finish or start their placements.
- NHS England said the program’s closure was unrelated to prioritizing UK-trained doctors in medical training.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
