Kenyan doctors in the UK launch association to aid in smooth transition

Smooth transition for medical practitioners moving from Kenya to the United Kingdom, and vice versa tops the agenda of the recently launched Kenyan Doctors in the United Kingdom Association.

According to officials of the association, for a long time, medical doctors, dentists and pharmacists, making moves between the two countries, either to work or for training purposes, has not been smooth, and they aim to change that.

According to Dr Emily Cheserem, the association’s Chairperson, it’s even harder for doctors to move back to work in Kenya after successfully completing further training in the UK.

“Many doctors intend to go back home after training or even work here for a long time,” said Dr Cheserem, a London-based consultant physician on HIV medicine.

But the process of doing so is very expensive and takes a long time to regain licence to practice back home.”

The association, which was officially launched in Coventry on August 5, will be starting negotiations with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), on how to make the transition smoother than the way it is now.

“If you are doctor who came to the UK like ten years ago, to start practicing again in Kenya as a licensed doctor, you have to pay Ksh.30,000 per year for all the years you have been away,” added Dr. Cheserem. “This means you have to pay about Ksh.300,000 just to get your license from KMPDC.”

The association will also, on the other hand, assist doctors who are moving to the UK, either to work permanently or just for further training purposes.

According to one of the association’s founders, Dr. Francis Githae, many doctors moving to the UK from Kenya face challenges in integrating into the UK’s Nation Health Services (NHS).

“This association will be helping those doctors to settle in better in the NHS system, by sharing knowledge and skills with the colleagues,” said Dr. Githae, an obstetrician and researcher in Global Women’s Health, based in Derby.

The recently held launch dinner, which saw doctors from different parts of the UK converge at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, in Coventry, was the first of the many they plan to do in the UK.

The association has been having meetings through webinars, and this was the first time they were meeting face to face.

Formed in 2020 by Dr. Githae and his colleague Dr. Jacqueline Kagima, who has since returned to Kenya, meetings were not made possible after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 50 medical doctors, dentists and pharmacists met at the inaugural launch dinner.