The Scottish Government is set to save millions of pounds as a result of the success of a scheme to accredit refugee medics to work in the NHS.
The programme, which is already working with 37 qualified doctors who came to Scotland as refugees, is to be expanded to work with dentists, Equalities Secretary Angela Constance announced yesterday.
It was set up last year under the auspices of refugee integration charity The Bridges Programmes, with £160,000 in funding. An additional £30,000 has been allocated for the expansion.
However as it costs £160,000 to take a single school leaver through medical school, the project’s financial benefits are clear, organisers claim. Six doctors have already graduated from the programme, with four more expected to be fully registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) by the autumn,
Maggie Lennon, director of the Bridges Programmes, said the initiative could help offset any negative effect from Brexit and visa restrictions imposed on overseas doctors by the UK Government. “If we get all the doctors on our books through the programme – and we expect we will – then the programme is much better than cost neutral, it has already saved in the region of £1 million” she said.
“It means we can get refugee doctors licensed more quickly and these people are not wasting the skills that they bring with them, or working in underpaid low skilled jobs. Meanwhile dental training takes seven years and is much more likely to be one-on-one. That is much more expensive, making the saving greater still,” she said.
Those wishing to register for the scheme are fully qualified but lack a license to practice in the UK. They have their existing academic credentials checked, and language skills assessed and then must sit two clinical exams. “The biggest barrier for most is language, and we have strict guidelines on the English Language level they must attain,” Ms Lennon added.
As well as language support, participants receive professional mentoring. It is expected 50 doctors and 10 dentists will be supported by the programme over the next year.
Equalities Secretary Angela Constance said: “The New Refugee Doctors Project has been a great success and is an example of how we can support refugees with medical skills start to practice in their new home country. Expanding the scheme to support dentists means Scotland will benefit from their expertise and highly specialised knowledge. Projects like this show how we can embrace people now living in our country and make use of their skills to help others live better, healthier lives.”
Rabah El-Hassan from Sudan recently passed her final clinical exam and has submitted her papers for GMC registration. She said: “The Refugee Doctors’ Project has been amazing and helped me so much. My biggest hope now is that I will soon be working as a GP in my new home town of Glasgow.”
Ms Lennon said the goal now was to persuade the Scottish Government to extend the scheme further. “We have a lot of occupational therapists, pharmacists and a vast number of nurses on our books. I hope the health deparmtent will look at this on a wider scale.”
Brexit could make NHS staffing shortages worse, said. “This will help redress the balance.”
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