‘Practice in the UK, we have the Lake District’: New guide celebrating the beautiful British countryside aims to coax foreign GPs to plug the growing shortage of doctors
More evidence of challenges facing those seeking to deliver healthcare in rural settings….
Desperate health chiefs are trying to coax thousands of foreign GPs to work in the UK by telling them how beautiful the British countryside is.
In a frantic drive to plug the growing shortage of doctors, officials have released a guide to encourage those trained abroad to make the ‘overwhelming’ move.
The booklet, issued by the Royal College of GPs, highlights the beauty of the Lake District, Brecon Beacons in Wales and Scottish Highlands in a similar vein to the Grand Canyon.
It comes as the strain on general practice hits breaking point as angry doctors threaten to shut their waiting lists to new patients to cope with the surge in demand.
Desperate patients now routinely have to wait three weeks to see their doctor, while surgeries are struggling to recruit as GPs leave in droves.
The crisis has occurred because many GPs are leaving to work in the private sector or retiring in their 50s.