NORTH-EAST doctors are being asked to take on medically qualified asylum seekers to boost the NHS workforce.

Around 35 medics are being trained to work in the UK.

So far there have been few openings for the doctors, who have fled repression in countries like Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

Unless more opportunities are created, the region could miss out on a valuable source of new doctors.

Only one refugee doctor has found a hospital job on Tyneside while several others have had to leave the North-East because of their failure to secure jobs.

Ironically, North-East hospitals and health authorities are trying to recruit doctors and nurses from Germany and Spain.

Dr David Chappel, a Newcastle-based public health consultant, has spent the last couple of years trying to ensure the skills of refugee medics are not wasted.

"We are trying to get some GP attachments and to help them apply for jobs.

"It is hard for them because of the difficulty in providing CVs and references," said Dr Chappel, who works for Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside Primary Care Trust.

Despite the difficulties, Dr Chappel is optimistic about the future.

He said: "Things are now moving. We have got some money from the Department of Health after a successful bid. We are hoping to appoint an administrator who will run the training programme for asylum-seekers."

The asylum-seeking medics are at different stages of training but to qualify all have to demonstrate clinical knowledge and the ability to communicate in spoken and written English.

So far the main emphasis has been on doctors but there are also seven nurses, three dentists and several therapists among health workers who have fled repressive regimes.

"There are still people out there who don't know what we are trying to do," said Dr Chappel, who is hoping to contact more qualified asylum-seekers living in the region and doctors who would be prepared to provide asylum-seekers with work attachments.

Despite the relatively small number of asylum-seekers in the region, the North-East scheme run by Dr Chappel is one of the most comprehensive in the UK.