§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what period of training doctors from the EEA are required to complete before being eligible for consultant positions in the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [62673]
§ Mr. HuttonDoctors with European Economic Area (EEA) free movement rights who hold qualifications listed in the European Specialist Medical Qualifications 851W Order (1995) are automatically entitled to entry to the specialist register. No further training is required. Doctors on the specialist register are entitled to apply for consultant posts in the United Kingdom, in open competition. There is no automatic entitlement to a consultant post in the national health service for UK or EEA doctors.
Doctors from EEA states who do not hold recognised qualifications would otherwise have to obtain a certificate showing they have fully completed training in the UK.
Nationals of EEA member states undertaking medical training in the UK, leading to the award of a certificate of completion of specialist training, are subject to the same conditions and standards as UK medical trainees.