Junior Doctors in Britain Forced to Drive Taxis Due to Lack of Work

Lack of work is forcing thousands of junior doctors in Britain to drive taxis.

According to The Telegraph, most of these general physicians have been forced to take up menial second jobs to make ends meet because their 'greedy' senior partners are not offering them full time posts.

Next week 2,500 doctors will qualify as general physicians (GPs), and according to the British Medical Association, a vast majority have not found full time jobs and will have to live 'hand to mouth.

It costs the British taxpayer around 250,000 pounds to train each graduate to junior doctor level and many are considering travelling abroad or working in another speciality even though there is predicted to be shortage of GPs.

Under the new GP contract there is little incentive for a partner in a practice to take on another partner to expand the practice or replace one who leaves.

Instead, in order to maintain their own income and that of the practice, the partners take on a salaried doctor on around 50,000 pounds to 60,000 pounds full time, but most are employed only part-time and earn significantly less.

Other practices are based in such old premises that they physically do not have the room for more doctors.

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The problem is risking the future of general practice as the best and brightest candidates either enter other specialised lines of work, or leave to work as a GP abroad.

Source-ANI
RAS/L