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Dept of Health

Answer

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made following the launch of initiatives designed to speed up the process through which refugee doctors find work in the UK. [151839] Mr. Denham: We have already approved the use of funds available within HRD to support initial work on obtaining data on numbers, geographic distribution and training career history of refugee doctors and dentists in the UK. The initiative has been extended to cover refugee nurses and other trained health professionals. A Department of Health Steering Group has been charged with managing, co-ordinating and promoting all aspects of the programme. Working with the many organisations in the field they will ensure that counselling, advice and training is made available to refugee health professionals wishing to use their skills within the National Health Service. Dame Lesley Southgate, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, has agreed to chair the implementation group. £0.5 million has been allocated to fund the programme. As a first step in taking the initiative forward, we have commissioned the Refugee Council to set up a database on which details of medically and dentally qualified refugees can be collected. We have provided funding to set up a training centre specifically for refugee doctors. This centre is run by a GP in north London who originally came here himself as a refugee from Afghanistan. We are discussing with the Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE) the possibility of hosting their Refugee Doctor's Guide on the Department of Health web-page. The Steering Group will consider all other bids and initiatives as part of an overall strategy designed to ensure that the NHS benefits from the services of as many trained health professionals as possible.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

151839; 365 c90-1W

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Doctors Employment Health services NHS Recruitment Staff Migrant workers Refugees

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk