An Iraqi refugee doctor along another one from Syria who came to the UK as refugees are now working as healthcare assistants for the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to lincolnshirelive.co.uk, Taha Al-Naim, from Iraq, and Bashar Al-Rajab, from Syria, both trained as doctors in their respective countries but are unable to practise as doctors as they are not yet qualified to UK standards.
But, desperate to help out during the pandemic, the pair volunteered to work as healthcare assistants at hospitals in Grimsby and Scunthorpe as the NHS deals with coronavirus.
The pair are undertaking their training to become qualified doctors in the UK with the Lincolnshire Refugee Doctor Project, which aims to re-train qualified refugee doctors in the procedures and processes they need to know to practise in the UK.
Taha said: "I wanted to do something. I can't work as a doctor now so this is something I can do to help."
The British Medical Association has approximately 750 doctors registered with its refugee doctors initiative, only around 100 of whom have gone on to work in the NHS.
The project will be working in partnership with the new University of Lincoln medical school, where the new doctors will be retrained in just two years at a cost of £25,000 per doctor.
Taha says he hopes to work at the Diana Princess of Wales hospital as a cardiologist.
Source:
lincolnshirelive.co.uk, By Emily White, 05:00, 10 JUL 2020
