‘Beggars belief’: UK health outrage as ‘exploited’ foreign doctors fear for patients
Dr Femi Johnson, although he was sent to a different hospital, told the BBC has was sometimes expected to work 14 to 16-hour days and also ready to be on call overnight. He said: “I was burnt out. I was tired, I needed sleep. It’s not humanly possible to do that every day for seven days.”
In a survey of 188 Resident Medical Officers by BMA and the front-line lobbying group the Doctors’ Association that was seen by the BBC, it showed that RMOs were employed by NES but some were with other employers. Around 92 percent had been recruited from Africa and most, 81 percent, came from Nigeria.
Meanwhile, a shocking 34 percent of those surveyed reported bullying and harassment, with 47 percent citing unfair treatment and 31 percent reporting unregulated shifts. 89 percent said they worked over 70-hour weeks, which is far in excess of legal limits and advertised contracts, according to the BMA.
Quotes from the survey include statements such as “the working conditions could be likened to slavery”. Another respondent said: “After spending 168 hours at work, I was made to stay an extra 24 hours in the same hospital and 12 hours again in another hospital. I was asked to go elsewhere again when I refused saying I was exhausted… It’s absurd that one would be made to work like a machine without consideration.”
Under the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO), “active recruitment” of doctors and nurses from developing countries with extreme shortages of their own medical personnel should be avoided. In the organisation’s list of 47 countries in this category, most were in Africa. The Government has a similar “red list” of its own including those countries, meaning British medical recruiters are supposed to avoid hiring staff from Nigeria.
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Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1681967/uk-health-exploited-foreign-doctors-nuffield-health-bma-nhs