Why Anaesthetists are leaving the NHS for Australia or Canada

International recruitment of anaesthetists has been ever-present in the NHS since its inception however it’s in the last 10 years that it’s become such a huge talking point.

The GMC reports more doctors on the register having qualified outside of the UK than coming from UK medical schools and the medical training prioritisation bill has sought to protect UK trainees from what it sees as a saturation of medical talent.

You’d expect Brexit to have had a negative impact however easing of pathways for registering with the GMC and the opening of visa routes for international doctors meant increasing numbers seeing the UK as an attractive prospect.

As those pathways and visa routes tighten to discourage talent from joining the NHS two things appear to be happening:

1. Canada and Australia are simultaneously opening their doors with similar options
2. Many UK doctors and IMGs in the UK feel alienated or disenfranchised with the NHS

If you’re an anaesthetist reading this article, I’m guessing there’s something about the NHS that’s not sitting well with you at the moment.

Maybe you’re an overstretched, burnt out or stressed UK graduate or maybe you’re an IMG who isn’t really being made to feel welcome in the system you were promised would bring you lifelong career prospects.

Whatever that is, it would seem that Australia and Canada are working to make sure that they can offer an alternative.

What’s different about Australia and Canada

Job Prospects

It would seem that most conversations I have with anaesthetists currently in the NHS go something like this – “we regularly cancel lists or don’t have enough doctors on our rota yet we’re not allowed to hire anyone”.

It’s a ridiculous situation made crazier by the fact that the NHS is able to spend money on private outsourcing yet can’t fund directly employed staff!

Canada and Australia have a clearly identified need. Their Royal Colleges work with states / provinces and governments to address the problem in a realistic and pragmatic way.

Simple things like ensuring Anaesthetists with FRCA and CCT can easily switch their qualifications to become specialist registered mean that doctors can make the move easily (the same in reverse would require hundreds of documents and a lengthy portfolio pathway application)

They’re also flexible on pay, being able to offer salaries that reflect the shortages rather than the rigid scales in the NHS that can’t be amended for working in a tricky to recruit to specialism or geographical area.

Salaries

And on that point about pay, a specialised anaesthetist from the UK is likely to earn around AUD $431,000 a year in Australia (Jobs and Skills Australia reports median full-time earnings of AUD $8,293 a week for anaesthetists. Annualised, that is approximately AUD $431,000 before tax.)

In Canada the median sits at CAD $311,297, with reported high earnings above CAD $600,000 (that’s according to the Government of Canada's Job Bank reports on national annual earnings for anaesthesiologists). Provincial medians vary but the same dataset reports approximately CAD $295,785 in Ontario, CAD $317,845 in British Columbia, CAD $343,507 in Manitoba and CAD $343,031 in Quebec.

If you’re wondering, both translate at about a 2:1 exchange rate at the moment (so halve the numbers above to get them in pounds) and costs of living are broadly similar to living in a UK city, with smaller towns and rural areas being considerably cheaper than the UK.

The Pathways

As highlighted above, the key to knowing whether a country is open to international hiring is usually its willingness to recognise international talent for its medical register.

Australia

Without poring over the details here (reach out if you want them though!) the broad situation in Australia is similar to the UK in that you register with AHPRA for Specialist Registration in Anaesthetics just as you do with the GMC.

If you’ve trained here, hold FRCA and CCT then you can opt for the Expedited Specialist Pathway and you’ll be recognised on the Aussie equivalent of the Specialist Register very soon.

Equally if you haven’t come through CCT you can still apply to have your experience and qualifications assessed by the Australian Royal College (ANZCA).

Broadly speaking, either option will be enough for you to secure a job and start working in Australia. Some of the more competitive employers will prefer you to hold FANZCA so it’s worth having your comparability assessed, depending on where you want to work

Canada

Equally, in broad terms, Canada’s licensing process for UK trained Anaesthetists is straightforward.

You register your medical qualifications nationally and then apply to the Royal College for the province that you wish to work in.

Most UK doctors choose Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia as the provinces with the most job opportunities. These also accept anaesthetists who hold FRCA as equivalent.

You might find there’s a basic supervision requirement before you’re fully signed off but see this as an important safety net – you’re not being assessed so much as assured that you have the right support as you settle into a new system.

Visa routes

Again, you can easily see how importantly a country values its international workforce by its visa systems. You’ve only got to look at the UK closing applications to spouses and children of skilled workers or the need to be here for 10 years before they achieve residency to see what it’s trying to achieve.

In comparison:

Australia

Australian employers can sponsor you through temporary skilled routes, with employer-nominated permanent residence also available straight away in some circumstances (though it’s rarer). If you’re happy to work in certain regions that can open additional options and incentives.

Most employers offer temporary entry first and permanent residence later and you can commonly find yourself with PR just a couple of years after relocating.

Canada

Canada offers federal and provincial immigration routes for physicians. In late 2025, the federal government announced a dedicated Express Entry category for doctors with Canadian work experience, 5,000 additional federal admission spaces for provinces and territories to nominate licensed doctors with job offers, and expedited 14-day work-permit processing for those nominated while permanent residence is considered.

The message is clear that Canada isn’t seeing overseas recruitment as a means to an end but, instead they’re seeing doctors from the UK and other countries as the future of their permanent workforce.

Attitude to doctors

This is a hard point to articulate in a blog article without getting political however it would seem diplomatic to say that most doctors in the UK are feeling pretty fed up at the moment.

They’re under significant pressure from a system that’s already buckling and getting increasingly burdened with higher expectations and growing populations.

Junior doctor strikes have perhaps been the most public manifestation of the frustrations felt though they certainly don’t encapsulate many even broader issues.

On the contrary, both Australia and Canada don’t suffer the same with job satisfaction levels reported as some of the highest in the world in Australia and far better than the UK in Canada too.

Equally, patient satisfaction levels are reported higher in both Canada and Australia with far less public frustration vented on doctors than is the case in the UK and NHS.

Is it worth moving to Australia or Canada as an Anaesthetist?

The answer to this will no doubt be personal to everyone that reads this article though the fact that you’ve found it at all could be a big clue!

For all anaesthetists in the UK though, the fact is that your training can

• Get you registered and licensed
• Lead you to more job prospects
• Secure you a visa
• Pay you more
• Give you better job satisfaction

To reiterate, everyone’s circumstances will be different but the above are all steeped in hard evidence and it really might be time to ask yourself if you’re being undervalued in your current situation.

Reach out – learn more

Most international moves don’t start with a big decision. It’s a query or conversation that leads people to the next step.

That’s what I’m here for. Having worked in international medical recruitment for more than 15 years and having helped more than 3,000 doctors to move around the world, I can lend you that initial support.

I love to hear from doctors who want to learn more about their prospects, pick my brains about registering with another medical authority or know what it’s really like working and living overseas.

I’d love to hear from you and you’re welcome to reach out to me via daniel@bdiresourcing.com

My primary focus at the moment is on Anaesthetics recruitment for Australia and Canada however my team are also here to assist with other countries and specialisms so I can point you in their direction if needed.

Best of luck!

Sources

• GMC – The state of medical education and practice workforce report
• UK legislation – Medical Training (Prioritisation) Act 2026
• ANZCA – Expedited Specialist Pathway and pathway to FANZCA
• Medical Board of Australia – Accepted expedited qualifications
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – Approved Jurisdiction Route
• University of Toronto – Licensure pathways for international anesthesiologists
• Jobs and Skills Australia – Anaesthetist earnings and workforce profile
• Government of Canada Job Bank – Anesthesiologist wages
• Government of Canada – Targeted immigration measures for doctors