A word of thanks to Plaid AM Leanne Woods & her staff for their research into something more meaningful than the usual LCO stuff and for highlighting a concern that touches every Welsh family.
For all the recent self-congratulation that the NHS is ‘superior’ to the US alternative, the revelation that nearly 200 doctors' jobs at four NHS trusts are vacant because of new immigration rules serves to emphasise a specific and as yet unaddressed failing, i.e. that a nationalised health service remains substantially more attractive to its users than to the clinical staff who work in it.
Some health trusts already have to regularly rely on locum or agency doctors to fill the gaps but WAG spokespersons claim that there are recruitment problems across the UK. They add that agencies were working to address the issue but omitted to mention what was entailed and their claims are further undermined by a statement by the UK Border Agency who said the immigration points-based system does not prevent overseas doctors the health service needs from coming in.
One point that Ms Woods and the One-Wales Salvationists may want to consider however is the growing anecdotal evidence that a dearth of applications from outside Wales is caused by a widespread belief that applicants have to be bilingual – and possibly have their children educated solely in Welsh medium.
Perhaps it is the adverts which foster the wrong impression, or perhaps it is the fact that doctors can be just as susceptible to cultural stereotypes as the rest of us, but it does strongly suggest the need for a form of quick action by Plaid and Labour politicians in Cardiff Bay which more resembles getting out the hoses instead of shouting ‘fire’.
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