RT: Thinking back to the Iraqi diaspora, do you see these Iraqis coming back to work in the health sector?
SJ: I would say Iraqis overseas are connected, they have a strong attachment to Iraq. So I would confidently say they want to come back. But the problem is they want to come back painting a picture for example, if you are in Sweden, you want to go back and open a Swedish style hospital. But bureaucracy wise, one problem is the legislation is old. So for example, a government talks about welcoming foreign doctors to help or train colleagues. But nobody knows how to license a temporary doctor for a week.
So here you end up in a situation where you have to take executive decisions and this is what people living in a structured system like in the US, UK, Sweden etc. are not familiar with. But if you go and operate in a hospital with no practice insurance, with no license, you just operate because the health chief or hospital director says so. He just says come, there’s a theatre here, patients, just come. Personally I think “go for it.”
But others say “wait, what if something happens, if it is malpractice, am I licensed? How do you even know anyone has any credentials.” So a lot of the diaspora can get a shock. So MOH want Iraqis to come back, but there is no process to integrate them.
But I truly hope this will change. Obviously this is about more than building hospitals, as we see in Saudi Arabia.Of course, there is a shortage of doctors everywhere. There is no magic wand than can sort that out.
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