According to the College of Physicians, foreigners now account for 13% of doctors in Málaga and the trend is increasing, the numbers having grown by 8% over the past three years.
An increase in population and longevity, combined with many doctors seeking better opportunities elsewhere, means that more foreign medical staff are being taken on throughout Andalucia. In addition, nearly one-third of current Spanish doctors will reach retirement age within the next ten years and these places have to be filled.
The major sources of foreign doctos are Argentina (14%), Morocco (13%) and Germany (10%), the latter resulting from an increased number of German nationals taking up residence along the Costa del Sol.
The further expansion of the European Union to include Eastern Europe has also increased the flow of doctors from this area, with about thirty doctors from the Ukraine, Romania and Latvia now in Málaga, many of them in the private sector.
It is a strange situation. Doctors are leaving Andalucia for better, more highly paid, jobs elsewhere. Doctors are arriving in Andalucia to take up jobs which are better paid than in their own countries. A veritable merry-go-round.
Concerns have been raised due to the fact that there are currently no recognised equivalent standards for medical training and qualifications, a situation prevalent in many countries, and this could reflect in the standard of health care.