GMC scraps exams for international doctors at four sites as demand falls

Getty/Sasha Radosavljevic

By Erin Dean

Tests for internationally trained doctors who want to work in the UK are being dropped at sites in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana and India due to declining demand, the medical regulator has announced.

The General Medical Council (GMC) said that from next February it would no longer hold Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) 1 assessments in Dhaka, Alexandria, Accra and Chennai.

Bookings for the exam have fallen over recent years – dropping by 40% from 2023 to 2025.

The number of exams continuing in locations outside the UK and the European Econcomic Area will also drop from four a year to three.

Tests will still continue in 15 countries outside the UK, including five other sites in India and Cairo in Egypt.

PLAB comprises two parts, with the first being a written knowledge test which assesses whether internationally qualified doctors have the medical knowledge needed to practise safely in the UK.  The second part is a clinical skills assessment delivered in Manchester.