The 5 most needed doctors’ specialties in the UK

The UK has experienced a huge shortage of doctors and healthcare professionals in general in the last 3 years. Be that due to BREXIT, a global pandemic, budget cuts or overcrowded hospitals resulting in doctors’ decline of mental health, the NHS is in desperate need of help to supress that shortage. Many overseas professionals are deciding to immigrate and help solve that problem – kudos to them! There are many reasons why you as an overseas doctor should consider doing the same, but in this article we’ll discuss the doctor specialties that are in most shortage/need at the moment: 

Oncology 

Oncologists specialise in cancer treatment, diagnosis, and care, with the field of oncology having three primary areas, including medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology. 

It’s a fact that the number of cancer patients has just been increasing by the year, but the correspondence of specialized doctors to take care of them doesn’t reflect that. 

Oncologists do everything from making a diagnosis to prescribing and carrying out treatment while also offering support, help, and advice.  

Child Psychiatry  

Child psychiatry is also currently in demand in the UK because children’s mental health has proved to be declining. 

As a result of increased awareness of children’s issues, such as physical and emotional abuse and bullying, the UK has seen an exponential increase in demand for doctors specialising in child psychiatry. 

Ophthalmology 

The UK desperately needs more ophthalmologists as currently, there are just two professionals for every 100,000 individuals. 

This, combined with the effects of ageing, increases in type-2 diabetes, and so many people spending so many hours staring at a screen, has resulted in demand for ophthalmologists sky-rocketing across the country. 

Radiology 

Radiology plays a huge part in the diagnosis of disease, and that’s why with the aging of the population resulting in more demand for diagnostic and treatment the UK needs so many more radiologists. 

Radiology is a field of medicine which uses images of the body’s organs in order to diagnose different illnesses and diseases. 

Radiologists can perform a several procedures, including CT scans, Mammograms, MRIs, Ultrasounds, and much more. They will then take these images, examine, and interpret them to determine whether or not there are any problems before giving their results to clinical doctors. 

Haematology 

Haematologists specialise in the blood, primordially diagnosing and treating patients suffering from blood and bone marrow disorders. 

Haematology is all about diagnosing and treating conditions affecting the blood, so things such as anaemia, issues regarding the red and white blood cells, leukaemia, lymphoma, clotting issues, platelet issues, haemophilia, and much more will all be diagnosed and treated by a haematologist. 

All specialties are in desperate need of staffing, but these are the 5 in most desperate need. That means it’ll be easier to land a job in one of these specialties – other than A&E doctors and General Practitioners. Think this may be the opportunity for you and need a guide to help you along the way? Give us a call on +44 2036376722 or drop us an email on doctors@iemedical.co.uk and we’ll be happy to assist you in this journey!