Wrong call: Dreams of Indian doctors to find a job in UK may die soon

London, Jan. 2: Junior doctors hoping to come over to Britain from India to start a prosperous new life in this country shouldn’t bother ? the chances are that after investing their life’s savings and getting the necessary qualifications, they will still be hanging around for a job after a year’s wait.

The report paints a dispiriting picture of the Indians: “Wrapped against the cold in anoraks and sweaters, they come here each evening when the temple serves free food. They eat in the gloom before slipping away to damp, squalid lodgings where many sleep three to a room.”

It quoted Dr Prasada Rao, chairman of the British International Doctors’ Association and a general practitioner in Stoke-on-Trent, as saying: “It is absolutely diabolical. The numbers are unbelievable. These people have come to serve the NHS and there is chaos, confusion and a total lack of care. There is no co-ordination between the department of health, the home office and the General Medical Council. It is totally unacceptable.”

The newspaper met Ramesh, a doctor, aged 29, at the Sri Mahalakshmi Hindu temple in east London. He said he qualified in Bangalore five years ago and arrived in the UK in August. He has applied for 100 jobs in anaesthetics, but has had no interviews since passing the Plab test in September.

“When we come here we are disappointed and get depressed,” he told Independent. “I have lost almost all my savings. I will stay one or two more months and see how things work out.”

Rohit, 28, from Punjab, qualified as a doctor in 2002. He passed the Plab test a year ago and has made between 150 and 200 applications for clinical attachments ? unpaid work experience undertaken to improve his chances of getting a permanent post.

The paper’s analysis is that “hospital consultants and GPs are still needed but the expansion in UK medical school places and the influx from overseas has created a bottleneck, with too many junior doctors seeking too few training posts”.