GMC calls for more powers to regulate overseas-trained doctors

The first ‘State of Medical Education and Practice’ report, published by the General Medical Council (GMC) this month, states that newly qualified and overseas doctors should have to complete a basic induction course prior to starting work in the UK in an attempt to help prepare them for treating patients in accordance with the professional and ethical standards required by the GMC.

Improvement measures aimed at overseas doctors are a primary focus in the report, which shows that 37% of registered doctors working in their UK completed their primary medical qualification outside the UK, making the medical profession far more diverse than the UK’s general population.

The GMC states that “doctors who come to work in the UK make a vital contribution to our healthcare system, but we must make sure they receive the support they need to practice safely and to conform to UK standards”, as many overseas doctors come to work in the UK with “little or no preparation” for the change in cultural and professional standards.

Aside from cultural, ethical and professional differences encountered by overseas doctors, the report also identifies the issue of inadequate communication skills. This is particularly a focus for doctors from the European Economic Area (EEA), whose language skills cannot lawfully be checked by organizations such as the GMC as a result of European laws.

Speaking to the BBC, the GMC’s chief executive, Niall Dickson, said he knew of a doctor who called them and had to have her spouse speak for her as her English was so poor.

Training in communication skills would form an important part of the induction programmes proposed by the GMC.

Dickson said that the induction course would give overseas doctors the support they need, providing “greater assurance to patients that the doctor treating them is ready to start work on day one”.

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) are one of many healthcare organisations that strongly support the GMC report. Sir Richard Thompson, president of the RCP said: “The report draws on a wealth of authoritative evidence including that from the RCP about implications of the changing structure of the medical workforce… The RCP has long championed developing medical professionalism adapting to the needs of modern healthcare, but this must be supported by an environment that encourages an open approach to matters of clinical safety rather than a culture of secrecy and blame.