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Refugee doctors

The BMA has campaigned for many years on behalf of refugee doctors who, having fled persecution in their own countries, have sought asylum in the UK and now wish to rebuild their careers.

This group of doctors are very keen to establish themselves professionally as quickly as possible, but are frequently frustrated by financial and practical obstacles to registration and often find it very difficult to integrate into the UK medical system. They are then forced to rely on social security benefits instead of contributing their skills and knowledge to the NHS.

The BMA established the Refugee Doctor Initiative to provide a free package of benefits to refugee doctors who are working towards GMC registration. It also maintains the Refugee Doctors’ Database, a voluntary database collecting information on the progress towards employment of refugee doctors in the UK.

The BMA also co-ordinates the Refugee Doctor Liaison Group, an informal communication and action group which brings together representatives of a wide variety of organisations and individuals currently working with refugee doctors. This work helps ensure a co-ordinated approach to work with refugee doctors.

Further information about the problems which refugee doctors face, and the work which is already underway can be found in this area.