Description
The number of foreign doctors in the UK is often called the Medical Brain Drain – meaning that the West is luring doctors from poor countries with the temptation of higher salaries. But it was not easy for Doctor Ayodyha to leave her family in Sri Lanka to come and work in Yorkshire in northern England.
IMPROVING HOME HEALTH CARE:
Ayodyha was supported to come to the UK by the Foreign Placement Coordination Centre, backed by the Sri Lankan government. In return, she signed an agreement that for every year spent in the UK she will work for at least four years back in her home country.
If this does not happen she will have to pay a substantial penalty.
Ayodyha is a paediatric doctor and is furthering her medical career with a two year placement in Yorkshire. She is putting her years of experience into practice. But she is also learning new skills.
While we were filming she attended a baby girl who was born seven weeks early and was suffering from low blood sugar and anaemia. The treatment was quite straight forward but there were certain skills that Ayodyha could only learn in the United Kingdom.
Sri Lanka has a shortage of medical specialists but this scheme means that they will benefit from highly trained doctors who are more willing to use the experience gained to help improve the health services in their home country.