The NHS is short 7,000+ medical staff and 52% of advertised vacancies go unfilled, mostly for lack of applicants. Many specialists want to come to the UK from Aust and NZ but they currently face a very difficult and costly 4+ year approval process.

This is because the General Medical Council (GMC) does not recognise Aust / NZ Medical Specialist qualifications. This, despite Parliament requiring the GMC recognise qualifications from anywhere in the EU. This includes many countries with medical systems, training, and language quite different to that in Aust, NZ and the UK. This petition is for Parliament to require the GMC to recognise Aust and NZ Medical Specialist qualifications (as it does the EU) so that they can be recruited by the NHS