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HEALTH By MAIRI MACDONALD
 

Dr Ramesh Mehta joins the protest outside the department of health
Sick and tired of new visa

20,000 overseas doctors could be forced to leave country under latest rules

LEADING physicians have accused the government of placing nationality above merit following the introduction of stringent visa restrictions on overseas doctors.
Some 20,000 junior doctors could be forced to leave the country without completing their training under the new rules, according to the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO).
From July, medical graduates from overseas who want to work or train in the NHS will need a work permit for the first time.
Hospitals will have to prove to the immigration department the posts cannot be filled by a British or a country within the European Union.
On Friday doctors and dentists marched down Whitehall in their hundreds to protest against the Department of Health’s decision.
BAPIO president, Dr Ramesh Mehta, said £5 billion worth of medical training could go to waste if thousands of trainee and unemployed overseas doctors are forced to leave.
“If the government has made a mistake they need to be able to change this policy,” he said.
“It is a huge amount of money to waste. This is illogical and unfair and a betrayal of dedicated doctors. Once doctors are in this country they should be treated equally by the government.”
Protesters accused the Department of Health of ignoring the NHS’s 50-year history of depending heavily on service by overseas doctors and of failing to consult them.
There were speeches outside the Department of Health at Richmond House before the march to Trafalgar Square.
Dr Rehman Khan, vice-chairman of BAPIO, said: “The British government is wrong to do this on four counts; they are wrong morally, ethically, economically and it will damage Britain’s image.”
Health Minister Lord Warner has defended the decision saying record numbers of student doctors had led to “increased competition.” He said the department of health would “only be recruiting doctors to the UK where we have a genuine skills shortage.”
 
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