A government initiative to smooth the path for thousands of medically qualified refugees to fill jobs in the NHS was announced yesterday. The plan includes drawing up a database of refugees qualified as healthcare professionals and want to retrain to work in the health service.
The health minister, John Denham, said an estimated 2,000 qualified doctors were registered as refugees in Britain. Helping them to retrain could help solve NHS staffing problems, he said. The initiative - started with a £500,000 grant - will be extended shortly.
The database will concentrate on qualified doctors and dentists but will eventually encompass other healthcare professions like radiography and occupational therapy.
Mr Denham said: "It makes fundamental sense for us to enable refugees with medical skills to work in the NHS.
"We are of course training thousands more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals but it takes at least six years to train a doctor.
"During that time there may be as many as 2,000 refugees in this country who have already qualified as doctors abroad.
The initiative was unveiled alongside a Home Office strategy to help refugees rebuild their lives in Britain.
