1 in 5 doctors considering emigrating over poor pay and conditions
The General Medical Council (GMC) says the main reason to move abroad was that doctors are "treated better" in other countries and have better pay
Almost one in five (19%) of doctors are considering leaving the UK to work abroad, the General Medical Council (GMC) says.
The main reason given for considering a move abroad was that doctors are "treated better" in other countries, with an increase in pay cited as the second most common reason for plans to emigrate.
Overall, some 43% of doctors told the GMC that they had researched career opportunities in other countries.
Some 15% of doctors reported they had taken "hard steps" towards leaving UK practice - such as applying for roles overseas or contacting recruiters.
"We must be alive to the ongoing risks to retention of doctors and the impact of losing talented staff," the authors of the GMC's latest report wrote.
Concerns over career progression:
The GMC's latest report also raised concerns about career progression for medics.
The report highlighted that 8% of doctors who felt they could progress their career said they were likely to leave the UK medical profession and had taken hard steps towards doing so, compared with 27% of those who did not feel this way.
Overall one in three doctors said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers in the way they want, according to the report, which is based on responses from 4,697 doctors around the UK.
Doctors are leaving Wales out of 'desperation':
It found that those who did not feel as though their careers were progressing the way they would wish were at higher risk of burnout and were less satisfied with their work.
Dr Rowena Christmas is a GP in Monmouthshire, she says more and more doctors are leaving Wales.
"Every doctor who leaves is is a tragedy, really, for the country and also, of course, financially for the taxpayers who've who've paid to to train these these doctors.
"But often, the doctors who are going, don't want to go. They love Wales, and, they're going out of desperation, really.
"The reason they usually say they're leaving is because their work life balance has become very poor.
"Frequently, we're being expected to do more than we've got capacity to, so we don't have the time or the resources to care for patients in the way that we want to."
1 in 3 doctors said they are unable to progress their education, training and careers:
The GMC said that workloads, competition for posts, and lack of senior support for development are adversely impacting career hopes for UK doctors.
Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC, said:
"Like any profession, doctors who are disillusioned with their careers will start looking elsewhere.
"Doctors need to be satisfied, supported, and see a hopeful future for themselves, or we may risk losing their talent and expertise altogether.
"Achieving this requires modernising the current training system, so it meets the needs of doctors and patients."
Concerns over working conditions in Wales:
Dr Christmas is also the Chair of Wales for the Royal College of General Practitioners.
She says the Welsh Government needs to act now to ensure more doctors stay in Wales.
"I think the Welsh government needs to address these concerns to try to retain doctors in Wales.
"We need to look at well-being, ensure that doctors have the resources and the time to manage patients in a safe and high quality way, ensure that doctors own well-being is looked after, that they're given time to rest and that they've got the time to do their job properly.
"Also they the Welsh Government need to address, the remuneration for doctors and nurses and health care assistants because looking at it proportionally over time, that is reducing,.
"I think this has become more apparent recently because working conditions are becoming more difficult."
The Welsh Government has been approached for comment.