What help is available for refugee doctors looking to practice medicine in the UK?
How many refugee and asylum-seeking doctors are there in the UK? The Refugee Doctors’ Database is held and maintained by the BMA. The April 2009 figure showed it held the details of 1,253 refugee and asylum-seeking doctors. As a voluntary database it gives a useful starting point but not the complete picture. Figures from the Refugee Doctor Programme Evaluation Network suggest a rather higher figure. RDPEN has identified nearly 900 refugee and asylum seeking doctors in the London region alone. What assistance is available to refugee doctors? The BMA Refugee Doctor Initiative offers a free package of benefits for refugee and asylum-seeking doctors to help as they prepare for registration. This includes receiving the ‘BMJ’ and ‘BMA News’, and getting access to the BMA library, BMA Counselling Service and some local BMA support. An application form is available from www.bma.org.uk Enter ‘The BMA Refugee Doctor Initiative’ in the search facility. For eligible refugee doctors in financial h
