To ask which is the best country for an NHS doctor to Immigrate?

[JetRocket]

Just looking for advice on which are the best/easiest countries for an NHS doctor midway through specialist training (finished CT3) to immigrate to?

We have 2 small children and only speak English fluently.

Anyone who has done it before, would be very pleased to hear your thoughts. Never thought we’d consider it but after 2 years of beyond hideous treatment we just can’t cope anymore our families mental health and work life balance is in shambles.

Oh, and we did clap in this house OP

Good friend is in Australia now - GP. They went when kids were 8 and 6. He was also offered a role in NZ. Their preference was Canada but there was a reason they couldn't get a visa, not sure of the ins an outs. Professionally he is so much happier there although they do miss friends and family and covid has exacerbated that. But there is no way he could return to the NHS at the moment, his mental health was shot here, and that was pre covid. Good luck OP.

I'm in Scotland and still no one gets to see their GP face to face. Everything's behind - scans, ultrasounds etc Not sure whereabouts they other poster was.

@Onesailwait

Please come to BC specifically Vancouver island. I've been on waitlists for 8yrs trying to get a family Dr. Tried to get into a walk in clinic today. All at capacity by 9am.

That's awful, @Onesailwait, but it doesn't surprise me. DH has a Canadian friend who's had significant health problems in recent years (we're in the US). He has said bluntly that he thinks he'd be dead if he still lived in Canada, because he wouldn't have been seen/treated quickly enough (he's recovering from cancer). I know that's just an anecdote, but it sounds as if the Canadian system is really over-stretched.

My best friend is a GP and moved to Perth. They love it and say they will never come back to live in UK. Their 3 dc seem to have a much more independent life, cycle to school alone and have a great outdoor sport schedule. The work/life balance is so much better than the UK.

My friends moved to Canada but he was already a consultant. It's really hard to move to the USA. I would be wary of the grass is greener phenomenon- health services everywhere have been really stretched and until you are fully qualified you will need to work with their training system which may be quite different and even if pay is higher, you may have far higher costs eg insurance, study costs. Plus remember as a condition of visas sometimes you have to go to less desirable parts of a country. (My friend wanted to go to Australia to teach but you had to go to Darwin for the first 2 years!)

Ye I have cousins who moved from the NHS to Canada. It is very much same shit different country and a lot of native Canadian consultants prefer to live there but work along the US side of the border - but that option is only available if you have US recognised qualifications.

Don’t rule out Canada yet. Someone in my extended friends circle moved to Halifax in Nova Scotia (both GPs) and are really happy there

@Onesailwait no we want the OP on the other Canadian coast - gp shortage bad here too! Although I am lucky enough to have one and found the system much quicker than nhs (and I have had cancer treatment here and couldn't fault it). Different provinces have different rules on requalifying. My GPs are from UK and had to pick where they moved to carefully.

Hi @JetRocket
What happened? Have you decided where you are heading?
DP and I are both GPs about to move to the middle east imminently! So glad to be leaving the UK behind

Good luck @DrBlobby999! I left the NHS 6 months ago for a completely different industry (non medical role). The NHS is haemorrhaging talent at an alarming rate, due to understaffing and horrendous working conditions. I was a high achiever, top of the year at medical school, a qualified and experienced GP. No longer was I willing to prop up a failing system with my own personal responsibility and the sacrifice of my personal life. Just in case anyone remains unclear on this - you can thank us all leaving to the Tory government who have systematically underfunded and underresourced the NHS with their own goals in mind (privatisation!) to the stage that the staff, clinical and non-clinical are at breaking point.

I'm seeing all my patients face to face now. Scotland. Have been since November.

@TinkysWinky
Well done for leaving! Ive been very sad about leaving the NHS up until recently. I also work in management for our very large county and can see no change in the toxic culture of squeezing people's good will until they are drained. A very good friend of mine, and by far the best GP I've worked with, has recently been signed off with burnout. Very eye-opening for me as if they are struggling then no hope for me!
I'm starting to look forward to leaving now as I hope DH will be less stressed. Tbh he's been a different person since he got the job. Like a weights been lifted off him! We are just waiting for the final bits of paperwork and then adiós :)
I do worry about the loved ones I'm leaving behind. Access to healthcare is utterly abysmal should they ever need it.