25,000 Indian-origin British doctors to return to India

Yuvrajjj · Jan 3, 2010

Nearly 25,000 British doctors of Indian origin are set to return to India within two to four years and some of them are "most likely
to join the seven AIIMS-like institutions" proposed to be set up by the central government.

"There are around 15,000 young Indian-origin doctors undergoing training in different parts of Britain who will return to India," Ramesh Mehta, president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, told media.

"Also, at least 10,000 senior doctors of Indian origin who are retiring from their jobs in the UK, are set to return to India," said the doctor, currently on an Indian tour.

He said they have already talked to the Indian health ministry and have got a favourable response. "The government has allowed us to come back and practise."

He said the ministry told the association that there will be a problem in finding quality doctors to man the seven new medical colleges modelled after the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

"We believe that these young doctors who are undergoing training in the UK currently, can be of great help in the new AIIMS-like institutes," he said.

The central government has given a go ahead to seven AIIMS-type medical institutions in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Each of these institutes will come up with a cost of Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion).

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...rs-to-return-to-India/articleshow/5407307.cms

TigerBalm · Jan 3, 2010

Oh groan, one more from Yuvrajjj (hope I got the number of j's right). I am from India, and even I am tired of this continual chest-thumping.

Yuvrajjj, our country has a long way to go, and it is wiser to make progress quietly first. Also, to be honestly self-critical, if one's country is oh-so-f***ing awesome, then it's living conditions and the happiness of it's residents would speak for itself, and there is no need to shout it out from the rooftops. India may be a great case for long-term investment, but only a blind and mentally retarded fool can be proud of our country's present condition : all-permeating corruption and the creaking infrastructure being the top two problems.

And oh, a quick google search reveals that the real reason these doctors might be returning to India is that they have no jobs and that after the recession, the UK government has been forced to adopt a "prefer-the-natives" stance w.r.t. doctors. I did not research this thoroughly, but I definitely do not trust the implied message in your article that the doctors are returning because India is some of milk-and-honey land which they are glad to return to.

I'd appreciate it if you can stop posting the jingoistic nonsense until, say, we are below 50 in the corruption index.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-...eful-of-positive-ruling-from-UK-court/278540/

"Thousands of Indian doctors in the UK rendered jobless after the government here decided to give preference to European medics in the state-run health service "

Indian doctors in UK face joblessness

January 02, 2006 13:38 IST

A large number of overseas doctors, mostly from India, who had flocked to Britain in response to the United Kingdom National Health Services' global appeal for more staff, are facing unemployment, poverty and discrimination, a report said on Monday.

More than 6,000 doctors who passed the Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test face months of hardship and many may never obtain jobs and return home peniless, UK daily The Independent reported.

The report said many of the doctors who are living on the fringe flock the Shri Mahalakshmi Hindu temple in east London, every evening to get free food.

A survey by the General Medical Council shows that less than half of those who passed the PLAB test in summer 2004 found work within six months, and a quarter were still unemployed a year later. The situation is likely to worsen this year.

The British International Doctors' Association has accused the government of exploiting the situation by charging doctors hefty fees each time they renew their visa. NHS trusts also charge doctors hundreds of pounds to take them on for a few weeks of work experience so they can improve their chances of getting a paying job.

"It is absolutely diabolical. The numbers are unbelievable. These people have come to serve the NHS and there is chaos, confusion and a total lack of care. There is no co-ordination between the Department of Health, the Home Office and the General Medical Council. It is totally unacceptable," Dr Prasada Rao, chairman of the association and a general practitioner in Stoke-on-Trent, said.

Ramesh, one of the doctors at the temple, qualified in Bangalore five years ago and arrived in the United Kingdom in August. He has applied for 100 jobs in anaesthetics, but has had no interviews since passing the PLAB test in September.

"Everybody has the hope of a better career and a better life. But when we come here we are disappointed and get depressed. I have lost almost all my savings. I will stay one or two more months and see how things work out," Ramesh, who took the PLAB test, said.

"I came because Britain was short of doctors and I wanted some training," he said. "There was no indication it would be so tough to get a job," he said.

Rohit, 28, from Punjab, qualified as a doctor in 2002. He passed the PLAB test a year ago and has made between 150 and 200 applications for clinical attachments -- unpaid work experience. He has had one post -- a three-week attachment which cost Â£100 pounds (paid to the NHS trust), plus Â£50 for the medical tests that he was required to take.

The GMC, which administers the test, said it had no control over the numbers applying, the report said.

The health department said it was considering allowing overseas doctors to apply for jobs from their home countries
More...

toc · Jan 3, 2010

'it is wiser to make progress quietly first. Also, to be honestly self-critical'

Very well said! India needs such approach for the long run benefits.

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25,000 Indian-origin British doctors to return to India

Yuvrajjj

TigerBalm

toc