Never before were there as many foreign doctors working in Belgium as there are today. Monday’s edition of the daily ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ reports that for the first time ever there are now over 10,000 foreign medics working here. This is twice the number that there were 11 years ago.
Dirk Devroey, a professor of general practice at Brussels’ Dutch-medium Free University (VUB), says that he has mixed feelings about the increase in the number of foreign doctors that are working her. "There is a shortage of doctors in Belgium, so it is in the interest of the public that foreign doctors come to work here. However, the problem is that they often do not speak the language."
Most foreign doctors in Belgium come from The Netherlands, France and Romania. However, the number of doctors emigrating to Belgium from other southern and eastern European countries is increasing. They currently account for 14% of the total number of foreign doctors working here.
Professor Devroey told VRT Radio 1’s morning news and current affairs programme ‘De ochtend’ that "In many Belgian hospitals patients have to wait months for an appointment with a specialist. Some Belgian GPs are not taking on any new patients so there are good prospects for foreign doctors if they want to come to Belgium and work here".
"So the public’s point of view, I'm very happy that these people want to come and work here". Nevertheless, Professor Devroey has mixed feeling about the increase in the number of foreign doctors here as foreign medics don’t always have a prior knowleadge of the Belgian healthcare system nor are they always able to speak the language(s) of the part of Belgium in which they wish to work.
Language barrier between doctor and patient
Above all, the language barrier between patient and doctor is a big problem, Professor Devroey says. "I have a lot of foreign colleagues who have settled here and who have also learned the language, and I am very grateful to them for that. There are also people who don't do so and they tend to work under the radar. They often cannot and do not speak Dutch. At best they have a limited knowledge of French or English. This is often a problem particular in Brussels and near to Brussels."
Quotas for Doctors
Professor Devroey finds it regretable that many young people in Belgium that want to study medicine are not always allowed to do so, even if they have passed the entrance exam. Quotas have been imposed that limit the number of students that are allowed to study medicine. This means that only those that do best in the entrance exam get a place at universities.
"It's not fair, but above all it's not good for our healthcare system. These young people know the language but aren't allowed to go to medical school because they didn't do well enough in the entrance exam. I have mixed feelings about it, both as a parent and also as a doctor. We welcome foreign doctors with open arms, but we block the access routes to a career in medicine for Flemish and other Belgian students.”