DR KAMAL SIDHU, SUNDERLAND, UK
When I was a medical student in India, there was an aggressive marketing campaign to recruit new doctors for the NHS. Talks at medical school promised jobs and training but when I came to the UK in 2003 I realised I hadn't read the small print. There was a surplus of doctors and it was very hard to get a job.
I finally found a great job working as a GP in Sunderland. I feel fortunate to be working in a job that I enjoy but others have not been so lucky. Sudden changes to the immigration laws have meant that lots of overseas doctors have had to leave the UK, uprooting their families and often returning home in serious debt.
In India, doctors are considered as almost equal to God but in the UK you are more answerable to your patients. There are good sides to the NHS, it's wonderful to be able to do your job without worrying about whether the patient can afford treatment, as is the case in India or the US.
My visa is due for extension next year, it's hard as I don't know what will happen. Having trained in the UK, I feel I have a moral duty to work for the NHS to pay back into the system. I enjoy working for the NHS but the immigration laws have cast a cloud over my career.
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