Ministers want to recruit doctors from abroad

The NHS is struggling to recruit doctors from overseas, the government's own figures suggest.

Ministers launched a major campaign in August 2001 to get at least 1,000 foreign doctors to take up NHS posts within four years.

However, figures released on Wednesday show that just 136 overseas doctors have so far signed up for jobs under the scheme.

The Department of Health has insisted it is still on course to meet the target.

Overall, 47 hospital consultants and 89 GPs from abroad have taken up jobs since the campaign was launched.

Global campaign

This follows a major advertisement campaign in medical journals and magazines in 11 countries across the world.

This was backed up with seminars and stands at international recruitment fairs in various countries.

We acknowledge that the 1,000 figure is ambitious but we are confident we will reach the target set Department of Health spokeswoman

The government appears to have had better success with its NHS International Fellowship Scheme, which aims to attract experienced doctors.

This scheme was launched in February 2002 with a �3m budget and aims to recruit 450 hospital doctors in key specialities within three years. These doctors will also be able to carry out research.

The Department of Health figures show that so far 114 foreign doctors have taken up jobs through this scheme.

Both campaigns are a key part of the government's drive to boost the overall number of doctors working in the NHS. Ministers have pledged to recruit an extra 15,000 doctors by 2008.

The Department of Health insisted it would recruit 1,000 foreign doctors by 2005.

"We acknowledge that the 1,000 figure is ambitious but we are confident we will reach the target set," a spokeswoman told BBC News Online.

She said the figures do not include those foreign doctors who have been offered jobs recently. She said "many more" doctors were set to take up jobs shortly.

Shadow Health Secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "This is yet more proof of how meaningless Alan Milburn's promises are.

"Labour's whole approach to NHS manpower has been to promise utterly unrealistic levels of recruitment which they totally fail to deliver.

"We've now reached the point where we can't believe any figures Alan Milburn gives us."