Work in the UK

Since its launch in 1948, the NHS has grown to become the world’s largest publicly funded health service.

The NHS was born out of a long-held ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of wealth. That principle remains at its core. With the exception of charges for some prescriptions and optical and dental services, the NHS remains free at the point of use for anyone who is resident in the UK

The NHS is divided into two sections: primary and secondary care.

Primary care is the first point of contact for most people and is delivered by a wide range of independent contractors, including GPs, dentists, pharmacists and optometrists.

Secondary care is known as acute healthcare and can be either elective care or emergency care. Elective care means planned specialist medical care or surgery, usually following referral from a primary or community health professional such as a GP.
A patient needing specialist care at a hospital or clinic will be informed by the GP of the hospitals where they can get their treatment. This choice usually includes public and private hospitals. The NHS will pay for treatment in a private setting if the hospital meets the cost and service criteria that NHS hospitals adhere to. Otherwise opting for a private hospital makes the patient liable for private hospital fees.

Primary Care Trusts

Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are in charge of primary care and have a major role around commissioning secondary care, providing community care services.

Acute Trusts

Hospitals are managed by Acute Trusts. Acute trusts make sure that hospitals provide high-quality healthcare and that they spend their money efficiently. They also decide how a hospital will develop, so that services improve.

Foundation Trusts

Foundation trusts are a new type of NHS hospital run by local managers, staff and members of the public. They are tailored to the needs of the local population. Foundation trusts have been given much more financial and operational freedom than other NHS trusts and represent the government’s de-centralisation of public services. These trusts remain within the NHS and its performance inspection system.

Ambulance Trusts

Emergency vehicles are provided by the NHS ambulance services trusts.

Mental health trusts

Specialist care is normally provided by Mental Health Trusts or Local Council Social Services Departments. Services range from psychological therapy to very specialist medical and training services for people with severe mental health problems.

Care Trusts

Care Trusts are organisations that work in both health and social care. They carry out a range of services, including social care, mental health services and primary care services.

Care Trusts are set up when the NHS and local authorities agree to work together, usually when it is felt that a closer relationship between health and social care is needed or would benefit local care services.

At the moment there is only a small number of Care Trusts, but more will be set up in the future.

Accident and Emergency / Casualty

Most general hospitals and some specialist hospitals have accident and emergency or casualty departments which patients may attend without being referred by a GP.

There are many opportunities for overseas trained doctors wishing to work in the UK and you could find yourself working in a substantial city teaching hospital or perhaps working in a private clinic as well as for those who are seeking a postgraduate (occupational) training position.

Hospital Positions

You’ll be part of a team of professionals and non-medical staff delivering care to the highest standards in the NHS.

Direct medics can offer you the opportunity for positions in urban or rural health care facilities with access to ongoing education and professional development.

Positions would include full-time, variable contracts up to 6-12 months and permanent jobs in large or small, public or private hospitals.

Private Practice

General practitioners (GPs) work in the "primary care" sector - usually for primary care trusts (PCTs). PCTs are groups of primary care providers which may include several GP surgeries, a clinic and other healthcare professionals such as an optician or pharmacist.

The general practitioner is the first point of contact for most medical services. The bulk of the work is carried out during consultations in the surgery and during home visits. General practice allows individual doctors a wide choice of where to practice, with whom and how.

The wide mix of general practice is one of the major attractions. There can be huge variation in the needs of individual patients during a single surgery. No other specialty offers such a wide remit providing the opportunity to prevent illness and not just treat it.

Individual general practitioners can reach a relatively high income early in their career and it is one of the specialties most suited for part time and flexible working.

Working as a Locum

You will experience not just a variety of clinical settings, but also life in various communities with the opportunity to practice a broad spectrum of medicine, fully utilizing your skills, broadening your experience and enjoying greater autonomy.

Training & Education

The GMC publishes Guidance on Continuing Professional Development, which sets out the principles on which continuing professional development should be based, and the roles of the relevant organisations involved in its delivery and quality assurance.

CPD requires doctors to maintain and improve their standards across all areas of their practice, encouraging and supporting specific changes in practice and career development.

Support for Doctors

Department of Health - responsible for government policy for England on health, social care and the National Health Service.

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) – responsible for the improvement of the health and social well-being of the people of Northern Ireland.

Scottish Government Health and Wellbeing Directorate - responsible for NHS Scotland, as well as policies on the development and implementation of health and community care.

Welsh Assembly Government - addresses the social, economic and environmental influences that affect health and well being.

The Lancet - One of the world's leading medical journals for over 180 years.

British Medical Association - organisation established to look after the professional and personal needs of doctors in all branches of medicine all over the UK.

Private Health Insurance

Some hospital groups provide insurance plans (e.g. BUPA) and some insurance companies have deals with particular private hospital groups. Some private sector patients can be treated in NHS hospitals in which case the patient or his/her insurance company is billed.

Government Responsibilities

Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, meaning England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each has its own system of private and publicly-funded healthcare, together with alternative, holistic and complementary treatments.

The responsibility for healthcare in the United Kingdom lies with four executives; the Government of the United Kingdom for England and the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government. Each asserts governmental influence over its National Health Service but with each having different policies and priorities, a variety of differences exist between the systems.