Terrorist Attacks Should Not Result In Foreign Doctors Facing Discrimination, UK

Editor's Choice
Main Category: Bio-terrorism / Terrorism
Also Included In: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 20 Jul 2007 - 0:00 PST

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Foreign doctors play a key role in the National Health Service (NHS) and should not have to suffer as a result of recent headlines about terrorist attacks in the UK, says an Editorial in The Lancet.

After the most recent terror attempts in London and Glasgow some NHS doctors were arrested. The Editorial says that the danger now is that the actions of a few will be used as an excuse to discriminate against the many overseas doctors who currently work, or want to work, in the NHS, since those involved in the attempted attack originally came to Great Britain from the Middle East and India.

The article states that overseas doctors, who already face unjust treatment, now have to deal with stringent new checks for migrants wishing to work in the NHS, which were announced on July 4th by the British government. For some time now the likelihood of someone from an ethnic minority gaining a senior position in the NHS has been much lower, compared to a person who is not from an ethnic minority.

"Such a situation is shameful since the NHS has long relied on overseas doctors to fill workforce gaps...this role, along with the enormous contribution overseas doctors have made to the NHS, should not be forgotten as the UK considers existing and future recruitment policies. Although criminal checks may be a necessary counter-terrorism measure, discriminating against doctors on the basis of race, religion, or country of birth is not," the Editorial says.

http://www.thelancet.com

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
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