From Graham Cox
You quote The Lancet as saying: “To poach and rely on highly skilled foreign workers from poor countries in the public sector is akin to the crime of theft” (4 June, p 11). In countries such as the Philippines families have to fund the education of medical workers – the state does not pay for training. The UK has no right to stop them offering their services around the world. After all, British nurses and doctors with state-paid training are free to go to the US and do so in large numbers.
However, many potential medical staff in poor countries never get near a hospital because their families cannot afford to put them through medical school. One win-win way forward is for rich countries to tap the vast pool of intelligent well-educated youngsters in these developing countries by creating and financing medical education and training facilities there. Much cheaper and no strain on these countries.
Whitstable, Kent, UK
