At least 35 new doctors just graduated from the University of Malta will be applying for placements abroad, probably in the British national health service, to leave the island for better training opportunities and better salaries.
Health Minister Louis Deguara yesterday said the government was taking steps to stem the drain of new medical graduates with new specialist training accreditation to be launched next year.
“The people invest their money in new doctors and risk losing them,” Deguara said, acknowledging that the 35 graduates will be entering serious competition for postgraduate study placements in the UK.
“We will introduce specialist training courses next year. But there is no way we can match UK salaries. If someone proposed that, we would only be kidding ourselves.”
Last year, doctors’ basic wages in the UK ranged from around GBP22,000 (Lm14,000) for a first year postgraduate, to around GBP90,000 (Lm59,000) at consultant level. With on-call work, a doctor’s salary can be doubled. In Malta, a consultant earns Lm11,342, a senior registrar Lm10,033 and a house officer Lm7,623.
Many new graduates have left the island for the UK before or after their two years of service working in the Maltese national health service to pursue postgraduate training and better salaries.
Malta’s medical brain drain to the UK reached its highest ever rate last year, according to the British General Medical Council register, with 55 doctors registering in the UK in 2006.
The figure increased over the 39 doctors registered in 2004, who received their primary medical qualification in Malta; and 32 who registered in 2003. Between 2000 and 2006, 211 Maltese graduates went to work in the UK, attracted by better wages and conditions with the national health service and private hospitals.
The dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof Godfrey Laferla, said the drain was indeed “concerning news”.
“It ultimately means less doctors working in Malta. But on the other hand, their training levels here are so high they are good enough to work abroad. It’s a feather in their cap and it is hoped they return to Malta to share their experience with us.”
Laferla also identified the lack of postgraduate training in Malta. as a factor pushing doctors towards the UK.
“With these new opportunities being offered at Mater Dei next year, it should entice more graduates to study here.”
The Medical Association of Malta has already stated that as much as 70 per cent of new doctors graduating from the University of Malta have left the island to work in the USA, the UK and Australia.
Many new doctors claim nothing pays them well enough to work on the island. Many complain they are finding it hard to cope with a growing demand for their services and 60 to 70-hour weeks while authorities insist that health centre doctors should see one patient every four minutes.
A study on job satisfaction among the NHS’s general practitioners in Malta also revealed poor levels of satisfaction among doctors, citing poor pay and career progression as reasons for their disgruntlement.