London, March 18 (PTI): Facing stiff competition for limited jobs at home, a number of young British doctors are exploring employment prospects in India and other countries.

Hundreds of junior doctors have applied for jobs in India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, Hospital Doctor, an industry publication, said in its latest issue.

Of late, there has been an acute shortage of jobs for doctors in the UK. The National Health Service had recently advertised for 22,000 junior doctors’ posts for which it received over 30,000 applications. Even if these vacancies are filled, there will still be about 8,000 unemployed doctors.

Hospital Doctor has reported that many Indian private hospitals have been advertising for British doctors as India is experiencing a boom in medical tourism. It quoted a Coimbatore hospital as saying in its advertisement that “salary will not be a constraint for the right candidate”.

Thousands of British doctors face the prospect of emigrating to various countries due to uncertainties caused by procedural flaws in the online recruitment system, called Modernising Medical Careers.

Following criticism from junior doctors and experts in the field, the British government has ordered a review of the system.