New UK Law to Prioritize Home-Grown Medical Talent

The UK government has introduced a bill to give preference to UK-trained medical graduates for NHS specialty training posts. This move, announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, aims to correct previous system mismanagement and address concerns about international medical graduates like those from India.

The British government has tabled a new law prioritizing UK-trained medical graduates for specialty training posts in the NHS. This move is expected to significantly impact Indian doctors, who are the largest group of internationally trained medics in the system.

The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting to address what he termed the 'catastrophic mismanagement' by the former Conservative government. The proposal seeks to eliminate competition with international doctors for NHS training that leads to medical specializations.

The changes are set to be fast-tracked, decreasing competition for each specialty training post from four applicants to two. Concerns have been raised by BAPIO and the British Medical Association regarding fairness and potential disadvantages to international doctors already working in the UK under the new system.

(With inputs from agencies.)