UK doctors reveal key reasons to leave NHS and find work in UAE

Healthcare staff leaving NHS in record numbers for Middle East, Australia and Canada

Dr Rachel Kaminski says relocating to Dubai improved her job satisfaction and work-life balance after leaving the UK. Antonie Robertson / The National

Healthcare professionals who left the UK in search of a better work environment have said they are enjoying a vastly improved work-life balance in the UAE.

UK government figures showed the Middle East is a top destination for nurses and doctors looking for work overseas.

Since 2020, the UAE has been the most popular regional destination for nurses, with 288 looking to relocate last year, a 25 per cent annual increase.

Doctors and specialists have also sought to leave the UK's National Health service. Five years on from one of the busiest times as a frontline professional, doctors explained their decision to leave Britain for a new life in Dubai.

In March 2020, Dr Rachel Kaminski was working at the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, the destination for hundreds of patients presenting with respiratory problems during the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Kaminski, who trained at London Imperial College and is now a consultant in pulmonary disease at Saudi German Hospital, arrived in Dubai in July 2023. She said that like many of her peers, it was a poor work environment that shaped her decision to eventually leave the NHS, for a new Middle East career.

“The previous winter [2022] was a particularly bad one in the UK, with patients being treated in corridors or in the back of ambulances,” said Dr Kaminski. “The kind of care I was giving was really demoralising. At that time we met someone who had recently relocated here, who said it was the best thing they could have done.

“I looked into schooling for the kids, cost of living and financially – it was a lot better from a safety point of view. Our daughter was about to become 10 so it felt like the right time.

“I looked into getting my licence and then in the January, I signed up to an agency and got quite a lot of interviews very quickly. By April I had a few offers.”

A new life

The centre that Dr Kaminski now works at recently earned a Guinness World Record for performing 879 vascular screenings in just 12 hours – an example of the vast contrast between availability of services from the NHS and those here in the UAE.

“In the UK winter I would be seeing four or five deaths every day, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cancer, here I get to diagnose patients much earlier so can get them the treatment they need,” she said.

“My clinics [here] are fully booked, and I see 25 – 30 patients a day. When I'm on call, I have six to eight inpatients and I do procedures so I'm busy, which I like, but I still have time to see my patients and follow-up with them.”

Thanks to the better pace and working environment, Dr Kaminski says she is starting to really enjoy the job again.

“I imagine this is what it was like to be a doctor 50 years ago in the UK," she added. "I have that personal relationship, and the same nurse working with me. It is just real career satisfaction and progression.”

NHS doctors and nurses must apply for a local UAE licence to practise and obtain a Certificate of Current Professional Status (CCPS) to work overseas.

Last year, the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council received 25,527 applications from nurses searching for work in other countries – a 580 per cent increase since 2019.

Other top destinations include the US, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Canada, Romania and the Philippines. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are also high up on the list of destinations.

Foreign workers are a vital recruitment tool in the US, where 2.6 million immigrants work in healthcare roles.

'Burn out'

Another doctor who recently left the NHS to work in Dubai is Dr Amna Khushnud, a family medicine specialist at Fakeeh University Hospital who moved from Great Western Hospital in Swindon where she was a GP.

“Generally in the NHS there is a feeling there’s a lack of staff, and people are burnt out,” said Dr Khushnud. “Quite a few colleagues have left for Australia and Canada as well – that number is still a lot higher than people coming to the Middle East.”

Dr Khushnud said she has seen quite a few nurses and doctors join from the UK, even though nurses are not necessarily paid more here.

“They're more midwives who are UK-trained, but America is a better option in terms of payment," she said. “My nursing colleagues here are mostly not from the UK, they're from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or the Philippines, and they're getting around Dh4,000 to Dh5,000 a month, which is a lot less than what nurses can make in the UK.”

Nurses in the UK are paid on a sliding scale, according to experience and expertise across nine different bands.

Newly qualified nurses in band five with under two years experience can earn £29,970 (Dh142,000), rising to £36,483 with experience of at least four years.

Top pay for band nine NHS employees, such as podiatric consultants and chief finance managers, can rise to an annual salary of £121,271.

Matthew Trainer, chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust at the Arab Health Conference held at DWTC in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

In January, NHS chief executive Matthew Trainer, chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said the pandemic and competition from other industries made recruitment particularly challenging.

“When you're looking at workforce within the UK, the NHS is still an attractive employer,” Mr Trainer told The National.

“But particularly on some of the lower paid roles we're very much competing with other sectors such as retail and other service industries that people can walk into.

“We've really managed to push up our retention in recent years by looking at how we support people in learning and development, and done huge work around apprenticeships.”

Safety concerns

Dr Khushnud also said the UAE's reputation as a safe place to live also convinced her to make the move.

“I've spoken to many British doctors who said the main factor that keeps them here is safety,” said Dr Khushnud. “Safety, the weather and less burnout – as well as making a lot more money than you would in the NHS.

“But I do plan to go back to the UK, as do quite a lot of my colleagues who are British who want to eventually go back to work with the NHS.”

Family medicine specialist Dr Amna Khushnud is one of a growing number of British doctors to leave the NHS for the UAE. Credit: Fakeeh Hospital

In the UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention recently held a two-day consultative workshop in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and Ras Al Khaimah Medical and Health Sciences University.

The aim was to plan a long-term strategy for the national health workforce, and set out key strategic guidelines to strengthen and future-proof healthcare staffing.

The meeting outlined a comprehensive vision for the future of healthcare careers, covering everything from academic studies to vocational training, licensing and employment.

“A strong healthcare sector starts with people who feel valued and supported,” said Dr Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, assistant undersecretary for public health at the ministry.

“That’s why we’re making sure national talent gets the opportunities, incentives, and room to grow. They need to take this industry to the next level.”

Special report: UK nurses flock to Middle East as record numbers leave NHS

A record number of nurses and midwives have applied to leave the UK and relocate abroad. PA Photo