if there are many candidiates for one promotion how can a British government then deny British trained doctors, whom they have a reponsiblity for, a role in order to ensure the maximum of political correctness. The fact that this has been raised highlights the fact that political correctness obstruts when faced with 'britsh graduates who are good enough.'

rosemary, london, UK

I'm Malaysian and UK grad and completed F2 but I left UK last year because i know this will happen. Now, being trained in Malaysia, and trust me, here, doctors are better trained and they emphasized on both knowledge and skills. and the systems here are much more advanced than UK.

All these descrimination that being imposed on overseas doctors does not make UK better Health system.

Habiba Begum

habiba, kuala lumpur, malaysia

As an NHS employee I agree whole heartedly with the previous comment regarding EU doctors they do not have the communication skills or the english language skills, to rival doctors from non EU countries such as Pakistan. The average IELTS score for EU graduates is 1.5 points lower than the IELTS score obtained by Doctors trained in Pakistan and India. I also agree that non EU graduates work much harder in my experience.

Louise Miller, LLandudno,

no one can debate the fact that UK graduates should be give priority for training posts.In fact most of the times, the IMGs get the left over jobs anyway.
but the Govt has done it in an ugly way.
They knew it was coming but they waited till very last minute with no consideration for thousands of IMGs hanging in the middle of all this mess.

zafar ullah, Birmingham,

Fair enough it is understandable that UK gradudates should be given priority but I honestly don;t think that europeon graduates would be good substitues for other oveaseas graduates as it is an open secred that African,Indian and Pakistani doctors are more hardworking and they have better command on Enlish language.Another thing I wish to say equal opportunity forms sholud be removed from applications.

ayesha khalid chaudhary, airdrie, scotland

It is fair to provide jobs for doctors who graduated locally but all NHS institutions and hospitals should remove what is called, equal opportunities forms, all ready the doctors are under pressure and it was better to create more jobs rather than to stop employing the none-EU doctors.

Dr M Abedghane, Liverpool, UK

Mataz Abedghane, Liverpool, UK

no as uk doctors graduatesdo not get any priority or consider eqally ouside uk
If uk graduates goes to India they will never will be considered for any hospital jobs, they do not recognise GP training from uk or there no consideration in govt hospital expect charity work
In all uk graduates shoud come 1st and this is fair system
NHS is beyond joke for treating uk graduates like this and it is all gove fault

sheela bidwai, prescot, uk

The Consultation document just published justifies the need to exclude non EEA doctors based on the high 'attrition rate' of non EEA compared to UK doctors (ie the percentage of doctors leaving the NHS after completion of training). How disingenious, when you consider that the condition imposed on permit free training applicants was that they must intend to leave the country at the end of their training.

Ben , Manchester,

The truth is foreign trained doctors, esp from the Indian subcontinent get chosen for posts in the UK over UK trained doctors when the selection process is fair. Isnt that the reason that the Govt now has to introduce protectionism? Part of the answer lies in the training recieved. I trained in a Govt. Medical College in S. India. No new fangled teaching methodologies there. Rigorous training only-You were taught and you studied.
Was tested 3 times on each subject by internal assessment and once by the University Board, for every subject on the curriculum, both theory and practical. After qualifying we do our House surgeoncy (= PRHO) at the same medical college, rotating through EVERY speciality. 3 months in Medicine and allied,3 months in surgery and orthopaedics, 3 months in Community medicine( General practice and Public health here), and 1 month each in obs, gyn and paeds.The experience gained is unsurpassed. Most of us come to the UK only bcos of paucity of higher training posts.

J Michael, Scunthorpe, UK

IN this case, would overseas doctors who are trained in the UK itself be allowed to stay or to get a post?

Adrian, Sibu, Sarawak

these rules are legalisation of the already prevalent NHS practice-speciality recruitment beyond sho level(SpR) has always been biased towards UK graduates. i tell this from my own experience of interviews in the UK. Inspite of working harder, publishing papers, having brilliant references and being appreciated by for my knowledge base, i struggled to get a National training number . i do Locum training posts to fill for people going into research(for the last 2.5 years). i have seen less deserving UK graduates get training numbers. some even left their numbered posts to go into alternate specialities which adds to my frustration. The present system where people are forced to stick to commit to a speciality is very welcome. i will still be plugging gaps in service for these doctors with hopefully getting a CESR which is the reality for Non EU docs in the NHS.by the way i studied in india in english medium and my ielts scores are 8(above average).

RK, london, uk

Comments based upon ignorance rather than facts are a dis-service to those who have provided health service to your own blood relatives.
Overseas doctors pay same tax as locals rightly so and are in-eligible to get any benefits from the state including the child benefit etc. We also pay huge amounts of exams/visa fees etc which the locals don't.
100,000 pa is not the salary that even most of the hospital consultants earn. It is the few GPs who were allowed to fill up the posts when UK was in deep trouble.
Please don't sprinkle salt on our wounds it hurts.

Dr.Maqsood, Liverpool, Merseyside

To robocop from Surrey:

How exactly do people from the commonwealth evade tax? Anyone working in the UK for the NHS has to pay taxes. Know you facts before you spread lies. And to earn 100,000 a year you need to be a consultant - which takes at least 10 to 15 years of hard MONDAY to SUNDAY work!

Foriegn Doctor, Sheffield,

About time too, I am fed up of seeing my friend whose 2nd degree was medicine as she only wanted to be a doctor, not be able to get a job. It has been ridiculous. I hope the problems have been addressed properly.

Lorna, Cambs/Herts

lorna, Royston,

I believe this change is fair. A UK medical graduate will indeed cost NHS a hefty 250K of taxpayers money. It is so unfair to throw all these highly trained individuals to waste. There should be access to NHS jobs scheme fto EU medical candidates though emphasis schould include on the qualifications, knowledge of the english language, and hospital experience. For the Commowealth countries there should be scaling system if there is URGENCY after PRIORITY WAS GIVEN TO UK MEDICAL GRADUATE APPLICANTS OR TRAINEES and EU applicants then employment of those would be considered.
My cousin has finished medicine for years now and she is undergoing training but still has not found a job. Its just such a shame all this effort and all this money spend every year by the goverment and uk taxpayers money to go to waste.

Mario, edinburgh, UK

Well, I for one think it is a jolly good idea, what on earth is the point of people from this country doing all the extensive training to be a doctor, if at the end of it, the jobs are given away to people from abroad.

Also, it would be quite nice when you have to see a hospital doctor, to actually be able to understand what they are saying and vice versa.

marina, Hemel Hempstead, Herts

As now we talk if Oversease doctors leave Britan today NHS will collapse.No British or EU doctors wants to do rubbish Jobs like A/E in Uk .I hope Plab test for oversease doctors will be stopped soon although It is it is generating a big money for UK.HSMP was blocking the money for home office when oversease doctors already in uk were getting it and not were paying money to Home office every six months with every new post they were getting in NHS.What a wonderfull solution?
Congratulation Home Office.

R Hussain, Malir, Pakistan

Perhaps the prospect of working 5days a week at £100,000 a year has helped students in making up their minds to be doctors, and for someone from the commonwealth this is a goldmine as they evade paying tax on it.

robocop, Surrey, UK

Perhaps this will have a knock on effect, leading to Scots being banned from English Parliment?

January-man, Bristol,

Again the goalposts shift.

I am an Irish trained EU doctor/surgeon who worked in the NHS for 6 years, then all the jobs vanished. I have been forced to move to Australia but would like to return.
This shambles shows contempt for the fact that overseas graduates have kept the NHS running for years and seems to me to be the third revision of policy in less than twelve months.

Most importantly the terminology used has been very interchangable, there is a marked difference between EU graduates, UK graduates from overseas, and those who live and were trained overseas, with no prior UK experience.

Unfortunately this is another scramble for headlines to capture votes rather than a serious attempt to rectify the problem.

Ken, Cairns, Australia

So, medical staff from Commonwealth countries with whom we have strong ties of history are to be banned in favour of medical staff from EU states with whom we have no ties whatsoever other than artificial ones imposed on us by our political and bureaucratic elites.

I fear not much will change for our UK-born doctors and nurses. Indians, Africans, Australians, New Zealanders, etc., will simply be replaced by EU nationals.

What a bunch of useless, prevaricating shysters this government is.

Martin, London,

Dr. Kamal,
It will take UK towards decline and time will prove it,by banning doctors from commonwealth countries,as medicine is a very honourable and noble profession and best doctors should be selected on the basis of merit not on the basis of racism,discrimination,knowledge every where is the same it depends how individuals understand and interpret it,now that we helped UK during bad times, you people are kicking us off,HOW MEANFUL,atleast those who are here and working and are on HSMP they should be allowed to continue and given guarantees what is their crime that they came to UK for a better life ,equality,justice,freedom(IS IT NO MORE ),and future entry for fresh doctors from abroad be blocked,and same treatment should be for Polish and other countries too,doctors job is to save lives and give lives not play with human beings,don't make a mockery of Democracy and politicians instead of playing dirty politics and spreading hatred and racism,will destroy the system in the long run

DR KAMAL, London,

I am a British Citizen who came to England in the year 2003.
I knew that as a British Citizen, I should know all about British History, Respect and Honor the British Tradition and Way of Life and not make any discontentment I have make me want to Change the British way of Life. I was alone, penniless and without a job. Yet as a Negro and as a Citizen I received the Kindness and help of the People at the Passage in Westminster. I know that the Nun who was a Doctor at Horseferrry disliked me because of the color of my skin but regardless, I was able to obtain medication for My Diabetees.
However my point is this England belongs to the English, the same people who are being made Second Class citizens in their own country because they are not of the aristorcracy. At some point in time whether now or in the future the English people will wake up and take back their own country and institute law for the protection of their culture, their way of life, medical system and their monarchy.

Michael Wilson, Conley, Georgia

How easy to stop nonEU drs from coming to UK, much harder to stop medical professionals to leave for AU!
250K of taxpayers money will not return anyway, if trained doctors are not forced to pay it back. It is much cheaper to have ready professionals trained outside of UK!

Viva la NHS!

Dave, London,

I am a nurse in the NHS & am very scared for the future healthcare in this country. Working alongside doctors as I do on a daily basis, I feel the standard of care provided by many of the european doctors is appalling. Many are lazy & lack basic skills, I'm often scared for my patients & find that the doctors have so little knowledge that they allow themselves to be guided soley by nurses advice. Invaluable though we are to the healthcare system, nurses should not be used as a knowledge base for doctors. Surely It doesn't matter where a doctor is from, where they gained their degree, their skin colour or any other irrelevent issues, Doctors should be employed because of their knowledge & skill alone. In a few years time I will be of the generation that most requires medical treatment & I'm very nervous about the potential quality of that treatment. Please, please just give the jobs to the best doctors for the sake of the future of the NHS & most importantly it's patients.

Katy, Carlisle,

If all non EU doctors were to up and leave, would NHS manage? Its very easy to negate the contribution of these doctors. Just use & abuse.These doctors pay 40% income tax plus NI to keep the 6 million families in benefits.

SR, Cambridge,

As a medical student I am disappointed that when I graduate having dedicated 6 years of hard study not to mention significant amounts of money in fees and loans on becoming a doctor there is no guarantee I will even be able to become one. I suppose if there are no vacancies available as they have been given to graduates from overseas I shall most probably move abroad to work else where. By all means the NHS and patients deserve the best doctors there are, but what a waste of the £250,000 it cost the tax payer to train me.

SK, London,

Priority should be given to Britsh Graduates suitably qualified above any Foreign applicant. in the Medical profession.

It's the rest of the migrants that want stopping not the just within the medical profession. Both legal and illegal who seem able to enter UK at will.

Other Eurpoean countries seem to manage it to a far better degree than UK.

Sadly this Government has no interest in this ever growing problem and they pretend it's not there.

Peter Waller, Australia, on holiday from UK,

The The DoH's announcement clearly states that overseas doctors still have work opportunities in the NHS, including ability to reach consultant grades through route 14. The only difference is, British doctors will be considered for specialised training first. Since the government built 4 more medical schools and increased intake by 70%, this is only fair.

As British doctors were 'commissioned' to work for the NHS, they would face total career ruin if the don't . All have already invested 8 to 11 years so far. Unfair!

Unlike other professions, juniors can not work elsewhere without full training first. For those who think this protection is racist, of course British graduates come in all colours and ethnic backgrounds. This move is simple common sense as every country in the world does; consider its own first.

Thank you Alan Johnson, you have done the right thing. More training posts to save 2008 please since lots of jobs will still be lost until protection takes effect.

Sam, London, England

As usual the government is having a knee-jerk reaction to a situation they should have foreseen many years ago. I suspect it would not have taken much intelligence to look at the numbers of doctors being trained and from there work out there would not be enough jobs. So often the government does not view things from a long-term perspective, because that does not win votes, and so they leap into some sort of action that they consider solves the problem. Till the next crisis, that is.

Di, Guildford,

Why is this government wanting to prevent highly skilled workers who can contribute to the UK's economic success and social stability from coming into the UK and at the same time allowing hundreds of thousands of unskilled illegal immigrants with no respect for UK immigration law to pour into the country and eat up tax payer resources and go onto benefits? It seems ludicrous.

anne , London,

What a complete shambles! As a few of contributors have said, this action is too little and too late. Where is the planning? The government is now in a position where overseas doctors feel, quite rightly, hard done by; but they are also paying tens of millions of pounds to put UK students through training, only to find there's no jobs for them to do.

I must declare an interest - my daughter is studying medicine, and I'm also feel pretty fed up with the prospect of having to spend at least £60k of my own money supporting her through university, with only vague prospects of a valid training position at the end of her course. Still, never mind, as she'll simply do what many of her friends are already doing - clear off to the US, Australia, NZ etc. These countries must be laughing their socks off, as they are getting some of the best trained people in the world, courtesy of the British taxpayer!

Tony, London,

Right !!

So someone feels that it’s better to offer medical jobs to people who were born in this country and happened to study here because "we’ve already spent so much money on their training"

Do we not wonder why (if they truly deserve them) can they not competitively get these jobs?

Why should this country be full of doctors that are in their jobs not because of competence but because they had no competition

I must admit I’m an overseas doctor and did struggle (like many others) but do feel that the medical standards here are set higher today than about 10 years ago when there was no competition and everyone got a job. I have also wondered why it is that the so called British Graduates are losing out on jobs to overseas candidates and what would be solutions to this problem

Surely if “all the jobs” in a country in any field are limited to their nationals do they not end up creating an artificial system with artificial capabilities? In this age of globalisation can any

Carl , Altrincham, UK

Is this the thin edge of the wedge. Will these restrictions eventually apply to all trades and professions?

Rodney Barker, Lincolnshire, UK

This is no different from the regulations imposed by other "western" countries. Try wandering across La Manche on Eurostar and applying for a job there. See how far you won't get !

Mike Taylor, london, uk

Its about time they stopped importing foreign graduates. British jobs for british people! I wish they would take the same stance with EU graduates too! Just ashame the public dont see how much hard work we go through in becoming a doctor and progressing through the career ladder....

SandB, London, UK

my daughter is also sitting her gp entrance exam on saturday along with i think 20,000 others from all over the world for maybe a few hundred places . She trained for 6 years in the nhs and has worked for 2 years at a hospital . If she does not get a place she is on the scrap heap . People with far more experience and training are entering for this exam it is not a level playing field at all . Why did the government bother spending the £200,000 or so on her training if they do not have a job for her

jenny talbot, manchester, uk

Can I just have the best doctor, I really don't care where he/she is from.

Steve, London,

What of the people that hold a foreign status but are actually graduates of UK universities?
It is rather unfair for them to just disband us in such a way if we have paid full fees for all 5 years to study here no?

Mike, Manchester, UK

To be balanced they have to let those already in the system compete. My 2 pence

Bob , London,

This is great news. British people should have British jobs. And I for one will be grateful not to have to visit a foreign doctor as i can never understand a word they say, which means my health care is completely compromised.

C, london,

The GMC never thought about the British graduates/IMGs who would face difficulties ahead when they were happily conducting Exams inthe Commonwealth countries and filling their pockets with billions of money.Today they dont bother what happens to the IMGs.They have used us and will throw away without realising how much nightmares they have caused to the foreign doctors.This is a lesson to all foreign doctors never to put their faith with the GMC/British system and never allow their children /grand childern jeopardize their career in the uk ever in the future

anil besant, nottingham, uk

At last the Government have done something right!

Bry Barnes, Somerset, Uk

My husband is a highly qualified Indian doctor/surgeon but was denied the renewal of his working visa last Sept - which has thrown both of our lives in to complete chaos. This news comes as a devastating blow but also of no suprise - I have come to expect it of this government. Gordon Brown and Co. should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for making it even harder for highly qualified doctors such as my husband to work and train in the UK. I feel like turning my back on my home country and moving to a continent where we have an equal opportunity to prosper. And we proabably will.

Tanja Mariadoss, London,

Protect jobs for British doctors by all means, but any doctor not born in these islands is foreign, is this what it means, I am not so sure!
What about protecting the jobs of the rest of us from the horrendous influx of hordes of foreigners?
We have millions of unemployed now, the Government lies and hides the true figures,Stop A ll Immigration NOW!

Clive Burghard , LANCING, ENGLAND

I am amazed that the government is getting away with this. For British read EU. EU doctors applying for posts have to be treated as if they are British; furthermore they are not tested for the fluency in English. The majority of "foreign" doctors are Commonwealth subjects. Once again we are discriminating against our friends at the behest of Brussels.

Jim Bruce, Peterborough, UK

Always blame the doctors, hospitals, government. When is it the patient's fault? The NHS should be abolished and people made to pay for their own health like other countries around the world. Only then will people work harder and save for unexpected medical illnesses etc. It's the mentality of British citizens that they receive the best care for free. Stop complaining and appreciate what you've got. Why is it that foreign doctors get all the good training posts? It's because they're smarter, work harder, appreciate what it means to give something to their community.

Gareth, London,

From a moral standpoint, as long as the doctors are properly qualified and speak a reasonable level of English there should be no restrictions. However, this is the first salvo in protectionism that will sweep the western economies. Globalisation has allowed our wealth base and British jobs to be taken away.

This precedent also suggests that we should bar all non-EU workers from taking British jobs. I expect the Unions will have something to say about protecting other sectors of the workforce. This decision could then be challenged in Court on grounds of discrimnination in favour of one group of workers.

Steve Marchant, Torquay, UK

If they wish to help UK graduates, why not make them the first choice, then the EU graduates (who have a mandatory basic fluency in English), and then the overseas doctors.

Giving the EU graduates an equal priority as the home students does not help considering how much the EU has expanded.. and in the case of Al from Falkirk, I wouldn't be surprised if his doctors were from eastern Europe rather than the Asian countries where most of the education is in English.

Cynthia Pierce, Leeds, UK

Why not stop doctors from Poland and the rest of EU comming over for a weekend to provide the cover. Majority of them do not speak good english, have not got an idea how the system works in UK and on top of that they get £80 an hour. I'd rather see South African or Australian doctor; at least they understand english and will understand sympoms that patients describe to them unlike the polish doctors who are only interested in earning money and then going back to Poland. Bad experience with couple of polish doctors covering my doctor hence my feelings on the matter

ts, london, UK

If there is an excess supply of doctors, whether trained in the UK, Europe or elsewhere, why is doctors' pay rising so fast? We have some of the highest paid doctors in the world. Surely their pay should be falling? Doctors would rather have lower pay than no pay, and we could then choose whether to save money or improve the service by having more doctors. This government really is astonishingly incompetent.

David, Cheltenham, UK

it might be the right thing to do, but...

1) Qualification of foreign doctors is proven by GMC. Who is responsible, if docor's professionality is not as good as suppose to be? Home Office?

2) European doctors do not need to pass even English tests.

3) What DoH is going to do with foreign doctors who already works in UK? And if they have EU rights or UK passport, how to stop them?

4) If any doctor still interests to work in UK he will receive EU qualification and status.

Dave, London,

We as a Country should do as others do and look after our own first. We have trained our Doctors far better than they do in some other Countries so why should we settle for second best. Our University educated Youth work so hard they deserve all the help they can get when looking for a job and we should make sure there is a job for them.

June Sumner, Retford, England

An important point to consider is the damaging effect that the loss of the doctors, midwives, and nurses has on the healthcare sector of their country of origin .

Dr G N Ppharaon, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Here we go again,
The government finding someone else to blame.
Instead of restricting foreign doctors why not put more of our hard earned tax into providing more Hospitals and local surgeries and less into nepotism and wage increases for
Useless politicians...
In so doing we will be opening a demand for more British doctors as well.

Roy, Barnstaple, Devon

But what about the best communication skills of EU Drs from Poland, germany, Spain, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania etc, on whom valuable NHS money is being spent to improve their English?? If skin color helps fair enough!!

Dave, Wolverhampton, UK

Preserve? This is not a word I have heard since the 1970's when the lefties thought that jobs could be "preserved"

Ian, Bangkok, Thailand

This is nothing but constitutional racism and typical Brtish hypocrisy - talk about globalisation but act to restrict movement of people. I hope the Commomwealth expels UK from its membership for this act of social engineering.

Sanjay Varma, Leicester,

Preserve? This is not a word I have heard since the 1970's when the lefties thought that jobs could be "preserved"

Ian, Bangkok, Thailand

How many of your GPs are Indian, worked bloody hard to keep the british public healthy whilst the white english doctors stayed away from General Practice, working nights and all times of teh day. The NHS was conceived by Labour but maintained by the Indians who worked like no other. Let us not forget that ,and that Indians will provide and remain a superior workforce to all the eastern european doctors that come to the UK and the sometimes, often arogant and lazy british doctors.

sardar gil, London,

Doctors and nurses are needed far more in India and Africa than they are here.

Stop poaching them and give jobs to our own people who have trained hard to get their qualifications.

As usual though with this Government, it is too little, too late.

We are told that there are 30,000 newly qualified doctors who cannot get jobs, and nurses are leaving the UK to find employment. If this is so, why do people in certain parts of the country have problems seeing a doctor or nurse outside normal surgery hours? Why are there long waiting queues at A&E departments throughout the country.

There is an awful lot needs to be addressed as far as the health service in this country is concerned, and if will not be solved by the constant creation of bean counting jobs as seems to be the Governments way.

Anil Chatterjee, Manchester,

A good idea i must admit, the majority of the the doctors now have trouble speaking and understanind english. Its all good and well bring a doctor, but what good are you if you cant communicate or understand the needs for your patients?
Then again, i must also stress that, even graduates who are studying medicine at universitys aint all that.
Medicine is a qualified profession; no doubt about it and righlty so, jobs should be given to Brittish graduates, this should also result in tougher examinations for medical students.

vish, beds,

I am a graduate from Imperial College. I was born in the UK and consider myself British; however my father came to this country as a doctor in the 1970s. I agree with the new legislation as does my father; I am about to sit an exam on Saturday to atttempt to gain a training post in General Practice. There is talk of 15,000 applicants who will be sitting this exam with me for 2,000 jobs.
I personally feel I should get a training post in this country over applicants who qualified outside the UK- what was the point in the Government spending so much money on my education if I can't get a job at the end?
Doctors who have come here to work like my Father did so because there were shortages here; if this had been the same in the 1970s my Father says he would have 'gone home'. The UK is my home and I want to work here on a permanent basis, not in Australia or New Zealand or for MSF.

Sara Khan, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire,

It's a pity that Gordon Brown's " British jobs for British workers" only extends to doctors.

Eric Muldownie, London, UK

Oddly enough Al from Falkirk, you are still alive and apparently well enough to be responding on here.... where is the 'rolls eyes' emoticon when you need it?

Chantel, Wales,

i am a person with long term illness my doctors at the hospital are all foreign they cant understand me and i cant understand them my treatment is crucial for me to keep living. all the doctors do is talk to the nurses who dont seem to understand them either. we should have only doctors that can speak fluent english and are able to communicate with the paitent its good to c that the goverment are trying to help the uk young future doctors

al, falkirk,

This bungled effort will drive away doctors to other countries and the UK will be denied a reliable source of doctors for a generation. (Think word of mouth and uni recommendations to new graduates on where there are jobs available.) There may be a steady supply of UK graduates, but as we all know that can change in a matter of a few years. At that stage it will be back to shortages.

It would have been far easier to openly state that the policy is to hire UK doctors. In the event that no suitable applicants are found then the NHS would locate those doctors from overseas.

Typical reaction by the governament to headlines, rather than having the leadership to define a sound and publically responsible policy.

Ajay, Farmington Hills, USA

Another problem is communication. I have had in the past a Doctor who qualified in Benin (a West African country). Between his secretary vanishing for no apparent reason, loud noise due to hospital reconstruction work and the problems of understanding a foreign accent (both for him and me); combined with a patient with a diagnosis of a communication problem it was pretty problematic.

As it turned out, the reasons behind the appointment were completely unnecessary, but being a doctor who didn't understand me or my cultural background he went ahead and misdiagnosed and put me on unecessary treatment (and tied up NHS time for the next few years too). When are we going to realise that recruiting doctors who can't understand English and cultural differences between their culture and ours does not lead to value for money? If patients can't communicate with their doctors where does it leave us? If errors are made because of this who is to blame? The doctor can't change the system....

John Brace, Birkenhead, England

Meanwhile hundreds of thousands of people with no skills, barely or unable to speak English, will be allowed to come to the UK, to increase the employment prospects of the social security services, the NHS, and in the fullness of time, the pension fund.

Brilliant!

DaveP, Beverley, UK