The number of new doctors from the UK who apply for trainee jobs in Malta has grown steadily over the past four years.

Some 200 doctors apply for the Malta Foundation Programme every year. Over 120 doctors are from Malta and the rest from other EU and non-EU countries.

The programme offers training over two years to newly graduated doctors and is the only affiliate of the UK foundation programme.

British medical students said changes to their contracts drove them away from the UK. Care continuity and a different approach to the organisation of work attracted them.

In a recently published article in the Telegraph, medical student Sarah Ward said contracts imposed on trainee doctors by the UK’s Department of Health were unfair and could affect patient care. The general secretary of the Medical Association of Malta, Martin Balzan, said that while there had been a surge in the number of doctors from other countries applying for work, doctors in Malta were not affected and graduates from the university’s medical school were guaranteed a job.

Dr Balzan said the working style in Malta was very attractive to young doctors, especially those coming from the UK.

“Normally doctors work for 24 hours, with about four to five hours of rest. They might, from time to time, work more but they get adequate rest. That’s not always the case in the UK.”

Foundation Programme co-director Tonio Piscopo said that in the UK, trainee doctors use a shift system and are often required to work night shifts for a whole week. “This not only disrupts the doctors’ lives but also distances them from their patients.” Another possible reason some want to come to Malta is that Malta and the UK follow the same curriculum, so certificates awarded here are also valid there.

Training methods also contribute to the surge. In Malta, trainee doctors are assigned to a single consultant, while in the UK, they usually work in a ward run by different people.