Stressed taxpayer-funded GPs could be set for work overseas

The number of GPs applying for the ability to work abroad has soared to nearly 5,000 for two years in a row.

GP leaders say the exodus is “alarming” and are critical that taxpayers’ money funds graduates to become doctors who then leave the NHS.

Rather than treat the patients who have helped pay for their positions, 4,700 doctors a year apply to the General Medical Council for a Certificate of Good Standing, enabling them to register with an overseas employer.

Australia is one of the most popular destinations, offering shorter hours and often more pay. In 2013, 729 UK doctors received Advanced Standing certificates that allow them to practise there, compared with 945 in 2012.

The Australian Medical Council has awarded certificates to over 5,500 UK doctors since 2006, 40 per cent of whom have gone on to complete assessments needed for general registration.

New Zealand is also popular with the 469 UK doctors who were added to their medical register in 2013 and 511 in 2012.

Recruitment consultants have told GPs’ journal Pulse, which carried out the research, doctors are also heading to Canada, the US and the United Arab Emirates.

Dr Krishna Kasaraneni, of the British Medical Association, said that GPs of all ages and experience are being lost to foreign healthcare systems. And the true number of GPs emigrating may be higher, as figures do not include doctors from other countries who train in the UK and return to their countries of origin.

He said: “It’s not that one particular age group, gender or location are feeling hard-done by – general practice is getting more stressful. It’s about selfpreservation.

I don’t blame any of my colleagues for wanting to leave.” Guy Hazel, of the Austmedic recruitment agency, said: “GPs might work a 65-hour week in the UK. In Australia, they’ll work 40 and probably earn more.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: “There are more than 6,700 more doctors working in the NHS now than in 2010. British doctors have always worked abroad but many often return with valuable extra experience.”

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