Foreign Doctors in the UK
Written by JDPGlobal | Thursday, 07 July 2005
JDP can reveal that European GP’s, (General Physician) are flying into the UK to work weekends as nine out of ten doctors opt not to work weekends. The irony is that UK based doctors are now voicing concern about the growing use of foreign GPs to cover weekend shifts.
Leading British medics believe that patient care was being compromised because the GPs were unfamiliar with the UK’s National Health Service system. The same doctors claim that it has led to incorrect prescriptions being issued and unnecessary referrals to hospital. The exact number of foreign GPs is not confirmed.
What is clear however is that the number of foreign doctors from many European countries registering to work in the UK rose from this time last year - when UK GPs gave up the weekend cover.
At the moment any GP wanting to practice in the United Kingdom for weekends are required to register with the General Medical Council, (GMC) although doctors from the European Economic Area are automatically allowed in.
According to a spokesperson from the GMC, there are concerns about the fee these doctors are charging and the medication that they are prescribing. This is a concerning issue and is simply down to the doctors not knowing about health care in this country.
