UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Health Secretary Wes Streeting orders urgent review after 22 foreign doctors banned abroad were cleared to work in the NHS, calling it a serious failure.
As reported by The Independent, Health Secretary Wes Streeting demands a review of vetting procedures after 22 doctors banned abroad were found practising in the NHS.
He called The Times’ investigation “horrific” and described it as a major regulatory failure that he will not allow to continue.
What did The Times reveal about doctors banned from overseas working in the NHS?
According to The Times, 22 doctors facing discipline abroad had their cases unrecorded on UK General Medical Council licences.
Among the cases are doctors suspended abroad for patient care failings and one medic who lost his medical licence over sexual misconduct.
Other cases include a doctor who sexually harassed coworkers, one who faced stalking charges, and another convicted of assault.
The Times added that several pieces of this information are public record and readily available online.
A computer tool allowed reporters to match names and biographies of doctors disciplined abroad with GMC records, confirming each identity was the same.
Wes Streeting’s views on foreign doctors’ misconduct in the NHS
Referring to The Times’ findings, Wes Streeting said,
“The public rightly expects that any doctor practising in this country meets the highest standards of professional conduct and these horrific allegations represent a serious failure in our medical regulatory systems that I will not tolerate.”
He stated,
“Patient safety is my priority, which is why I have taken immediate action, requesting urgent clarification from the General Medical Council about their processes for vetting international doctors seeking to work in the UK.”
Mr Streeting added,
“I have also instructed NHS England to identify the status of these doctors and work with trusts to ensure patients and staff are kept safe as a matter of urgency. No doctor with serious misconduct findings should be able to slip through the cracks and practise in our NHS – no exceptions, no matter where they trained.”
What did the GMC say about overseas doctor sanctions and patient safety?
The General Medical Council said it promotes international information-sharing between regulators, highlighting cases where banned doctors went unreported.
In some incidents, the GMC knew of the sanctions but still permitted those doctors to work in the UK.
The council is reviewing 26 cases, including one treated as urgent; 25 doctors currently lack UK licences, despite prior work in the country.
A GMC spokeswoman stated,
“We take our role protecting patients extremely seriously. We were instrumental in establishing the EU’s fitness-to-practise information-sharing system in 2013, and although Brexit ended our access, we continue to proactively share information extensively with regulators overseas, including in the EU, where we have taken action against doctors registered with us.”
They said,
“We also routinely receive information from overseas regulators including by way of the physician information exchange which has been developed by the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities. We also always actively seek information from overseas regulators when doctors who have been working in other countries apply to register with us.”
The GMC spokesperson added,
“Doctors wishing to gain registration should also be under no illusion about their duty and responsibility to tell us about anything that might affect their ability to practise safely in the UK – our professional guidance makes this very clear. We will continue to review each case carefully and thoroughly, and, where doctors are registered with us, decide what action we might need to take.”
How are GP surgeries implementing online booking in England?
Under the new reforms, all GP surgeries in England are required to offer online appointment bookings. Services must be available 8 am–6.30 pm, Monday to Friday, for appointments, medication, and admin requests.
Wes Streeting said,
“Many GPs already offer this service because they’ve changed with the times. Why shouldn’t be booking a GP appointment be as easy as booking a delivery, a taxi, or a takeaway? And our policy comes alongside a billion pounds of extra funding for general practice and 2,000 extra GPs.”
Key statistics on NHS staff
Around 265,000 NHS staff in England (19%) are non-British, with over a third of doctors (35%) and 28% of nurses foreign-trained. The UK aims to reduce reliance on international recruits from 34% to under 10% by 2035.
High dependence comes from domestic training shortfalls, workload pressures, and staff retention challenges.