Indian Hospital Partners with UK College to Plug Shortage of Skilled Radiologists in Britain

Indian radiologists will soon get an increased opportunity to work in the United Kingdom for fixed terms, according to a collaboration between the Apollo Hospitals Group with UK’s Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) announced on March 29.

“We are delighted to have partnered with the Royal College of Radiologists and Health Education England to enhance multi-fold the availability of trained radiologists in the NHS and Indian health system,” Apollo Hospitals Group joint MD Sangita Reddy was quoted as saying by PTI.

According to the partnership, eligible radiologists from India will get an opportunity to work as well as train in UK’s National Health Service (NHS) partner hospitals for a span of three years. The partnership will help in addressing the paucity of skilled radiologists in the UK NHS system.

“This partnership will ensure that Indian radiologists get an opportunity to enhance their skills through exposure to the NHS system,” Nicola Strickland, the president of RCR, said.

Along with plugging the shortages in the NHS, the move will also help in strengthening the health delivery system of India as the radiologists trained in the United Kingdom will return home after working and training there for three years, Strickland added.

It is important that radiologists are trained in advanced skills as there is a need for expertise for prevention and management of diseases, quaternary care and surgical interventions, Reddy said.

India has been a big source of medical professionals in the public-funded healthcare system in the United Kingdom.

The NHS is also planning to recruit more than 600 nurses from the Philippines and India to plug the shortage of staff in Northern Ireland, it announced in January this year. A few months before that, it announced plans to hire 5,500 more nurses the two countries. There is a reported shortage of 40,000 nurses across the United Kingdom. A shortage of medical staff is being felt all over Europe.

In Northern Ireland, the shortfall is said to be 1,500, and a decision has been taken to launch an overseas recruitment program, chief nursing officer Charlotte McArdle was quoted in media reports as saying. The NHS crisis was pushed to the forefront with Brexit, as almost 10,000 nurses quit after the referendum.