IT is a striking figure. It costs £160,000 to turn a school leaver into a doctor. But a new programme has used the same amount of money – £160,000 – to help 37 refugee doctors to retrain and work in Scotland. You might say that we are getting 37 doctors for the price of one.
Of course, the details are a little more complicated. The scheme, which is funded by the Scottish Government and operated by the charity the Bridges Programme, has helped six doctors to complete the process, and there will be another four by June. But it is predicted that within three years 37 refugees will be working as doctors.
Naturally, the new recruits will have to meet the necessary clinical standards, and prove they have good enough English, but the potential benefits for the health service are obvious. Scotland’s NHS trusts have thousands of vacancies, with some posts left unfilled for years - all of which has a direct effect on budgets.
Recruiting refugee doctors relatively quickly could help with this problem. It could also help deal with the shocking waste of skills that refugee doctors represent - some have been working in jobs for which they are hugely over-qualified. And if the scheme is a success, the Scottish Government should extend it.
However, the scheme should also act as a reminder of the connection between the health service and immigration. Around one in 20 of Scotland’s doctors come from other parts of Europe and the RCN has warned that restrictions on EU citizens working in the NHS would cause a staffing crisis.
The refugee doctor scheme may help a little with that problem. But the health service in Scotland is unlikely ever to be fully staffed without a progressive policy on immigration. That means the health service being able to recruit the doctors and nurses it needs from wherever it can find them.
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