Medics head to St John’s from Burma

FOUR doctors from Burma are the latest to be recruited in a drive to staff children’s wards across Lothian.

They are set to be offered paediatric fellow posts later this year and will help with out-of-hours shifts at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, where the children’s ward has been under threat of a permanent downgrade because of a staffing crisis.

A doctor from India is set to travel to Lothian following a phone interview, while another speciality doctor is to start this month.

Other posts to have been filled include a neonatal clinical fellow, while two advanced neonatal nurse practitioners from overseas have been offered jobs.

While the news was welcomed by NHS Lothian board members, health bosses have urged caution.

Dr David Farquharson, medical director, said: “We can’t rest easy at the moment given the shortage [of paediatric specialists] throughout the UK.”