mshaqal

Hi Tihami,I work the same hours here in Sydney without the weekends,does it worth it ?Regards.

radiodoc

40 K in £ or $ and how much is annually
I am in the process of doing negotiations with someone in Qatar
Have you done a months locum trial already?

radiodoc

Hi Guys
I find this for very useful to ask some questions on salary and working life etc
I am considering coming to Hamad Medical Hospital to start a new service.11 years Post CCST and have worked in the UK as a Consultant for 11 years.Asian origin.
I may be called for a locum trial to begin with.
Questions are -
What salary can one realistically ask for as a locum and then as a substantive.
Are there any medico legal issues here like in the west?
What sort of social life does one have in the events in a place like Doha?
Grateful for any replies
Cheers

tihami

40 K QAR/Month.

tihami

Not sure about Locum pay. HMC salary package has changed in recent past. It depends on their need and the specialty u are applying for. They have offered anything b/w 42 K QAR to 65-80 K QAR for consultants. There is no medico legal cover. mostly such cases are dealt with police department. Social life is great. there are hundreds of Asian British drs in Doha.

radiodoc

Hi Tihami
Thanks for your reply.Thats very useful .
I find that interesting about the medico legal aspect
Do you mean that medical malpractice or litigation cases ,say when a doctor is perceived to have made a mistake -are dealt with the police to begin with?
The other thing I wanted to know was if as a British citizen I take the tax free money back to UK within a few months is that all mine or do I pay tax on it.I haven't yet spoken to any UK accountant.

scot47

FAQ’s on UK Tax for Expats | British Expatriate Community

radiodoc

Thanks Scot47

Gp15

Can someone with actual experience summarise the advice here for GPs considering the move? Thanks.

tihami

if you go through the pages of this post, you will get info.

Gp15

Thank you Tihami for your response; I have read all the posts. My suggestion to get the most of it, is to share responses in a summarised standard form. For example to answer the following questions:

1- Job similarities and difference to working as a GP in the UK (is it comparable to salaried posts/locums or partnerships

2- Income and expenses/cost of living/health care for family/schools in Qatar compared to the UK

3- Quality of work/interference from managers/complaints from patients

4-Personal experience. Would doctors there prefer to stay or return? Any regrets? What would've made this the perfect experience?

5- Advice regarding the application/interview/relocation experience.

Many thanks.

OriginalSunshine

Excellent idea - summarising 10 pages would be a worthy contribution to the forum. Thanks in advance!

tihami

starting in the reverse order.
I think it is not a good idea at the moment to apply for Qatar or any other Middle East country. Drop in the oil price has hit them very hard and there are major cuts as well as instability in the job. They have recently terminated contracts of lot of lower scale staff e.g. ward boys/ tea boys etc. Better wait and see.
Also they already interviewed 160 drs in UK and offered job to 90-100 of them. so new recruitment is on hold at the moment.

radiodoc

I agree with Tihami.
I was treated pretty off handedly and abruptly by HMC probably they mistook me for a ward boy even though the email said senior consultant.
Submitted my CV---then without anyone speaking to me about the job detail--- HR asked to come over for a locum----offered to pay peanuts for the month long locum (much less than the substantive salary for an NHS consultant).When I asked to speak to someone there about what I'd be doing there for the month or asked for a higher salary---no reply,total silence.
In the background of all this negotiations ,(unfortunately)was an ex -UK Consultant from another allied speciality (on their payroll) emailing me and selling the job as 'tax free' haven with 'free accomodation' and 'free food' and 'lots of sun'.
I think there is a mismatch in perceptions somewhere on both sides -where one side thinks disgruntled dumb western doctors are queuing up to make more money so lets sign up whoever we can on cheap rates.
I would shudder to work in a place like this .
I said a polite 'no' as the salaries despite being tax free are in some ways lower and even if higher in numbers is negated by the higher cost of living and second class status (which is evident by the attitude before even joining a post).
I hope this helps others.This site is very handy I must say as I sign out- thanks for everybody's help.
)

Tonk

Hi Thiami

I'm a little perplexed by your comments above. Are you suggesting that they are likely to be cutting back their expansion plans? Is this speculative or have you seen evidence of this? My understanding was that the primary care restructuring, and the mobile GP service, was an absolute priority. Is their job insecurity among the Drs?

Without hopefully sounding too crass, I was viewing the drop in oil prices, and cuts in oil industry jobs etc, as potentially improving access to school places etc.