Pioneering scheme for refugee doctors

Many health authorities do not have enough GPs

Refugee doctors are being given the chance to use their skills in the UK thanks to a pioneering scheme in east London.

Redbridge and Waltham Forest Health Authority is funding a group of refugee doctors through exams which could eventually help them work in the UK.

The authority says it is a two-way deal as the district is suffering from a shortage of GPs, particularly in deprived areas where there are a lot of refugees.

Doctors from other countries have to retrain if they want to work in the UK since their qualifications are not recognised by the General Medical Council, doctors' regulatory body.

They had to take at least two exams, the International English Language Testing System (IETS) and the Professional Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB).

Both cost several hundred pounds and many refugee doctors, who often have several years of specialist medical experience, cannot afford them.

Expensive exams

Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA is paying for the doctors to pass the IETS exams at the Colchester English Language Centre.

It has also arranged for a PLAB course for the doctors as well as mentors to help them through it.

Doctors - some with years of experience - have to retrain to work in the UK

The doctors meet up regularly to discuss developments in the NHS and do presentations of papers on specialist subjects.

Local NHS trusts will help find attachments for them in hospitals to give them the experience they need to be able to apply for vocational training courses or other jobs which will help them apply for full registration.

The scheme came about after the HA's refugee linkworker Rada Daniel pointed out seven refugee doctors in the area who were unable to use their training.

A year since it began, two of the doctors are working as advocates, helping to get refugees registered with GPs.

The HA originally applied to the European Union for funding for two refugee doctors, but is now using a special trust fund to pay for 20 or so to be trained.

Husband and wife team

The doctors come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, Sierra Leone, Somalia, the former Yugoslavia and Bangladesh.

They include a husband and wife team from Afghanistan.

Nawal El Khoury Wasel has just passed her English exam.

She worked as a GP in Afghanistan for more than 12 years. Her husband Massud is studying for his exam.

The HA says its investment makes good business sense.

"For around £3,500 for the courses and exams, we could have a qualified GP to work with the local population, possibly with members of their own ethnic group," said Dr Peter Elliott, Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA's medical advisor.

The HA, which is home to the largest refugee population in outer London, has also begun a translation card scheme to help refugees conduct basic transactions with their local GP surgeries when they first arrive in the country.

The British Medical Association has called on the government to ensure refugee doctors' skills are not allowed to go to waste.