The north-east of Scotland is now the fastest-growing destination in the UK for migrant workers but many return home for medical treatment because it is quicker and better, according to a new report.

The study reveals that the majority of migrant workers who have experienced health care systems in Scotland perceive the medical services in their own countries to be generally of better quality.

"There was an expectation that they would be able to see a doctor without delay when they needed and that doctors would be more thorough in their examination," says the report which was commissioned by Communities Scotland, Aberdeen; Aberdeenshire and Moray councils; Scottish Enterprise and Grampian and NHS Grampian to identify ways in which public agencies in the area might improve their response to migrant workers.

It says that waiting times to access GP services and difficulties accessing dental care are not issues peculiar to migrant workers, but are faced by the population as a whole.

Most migrants from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia preferred to return home for treatment of non-acute medical problems, as well as dental care and visits to opticians.