A man has won the right to be a doctor, after being forced to move from the UK to Germany.
Dr Joachim Schmitz, a professor at the University of Münster, has been living in Germany for almost four years.
He had been a professor in the UK since 2011, but was told in January that he would have to leave the country, with the final decision made by the German health ministry.
‘I had to decide, for me, to move back to my native country to become a doctor,’ he said.
‘The situation was completely out of my control, I had no choice.
‘My job was to do tests, to do diagnostic work and to do my research.’
Dr SchmitZ has been in Germany since 2012, working in several different fields including medical imaging, clinical trial design, and clinical psychology.
The former lecturer at the Universität Leipzig was appointed in 2018 as a doctor in the city of Heidelberg.
The decision to allow him to live in the German capital has been controversial in Germany, with some calling for him to be removed from the job, while others have called for him back to the UK.
In an interview with the newspaper Die Zeit, Dr SchmittZs director of clinical psychology, Professor Ulrich Schmit, said: ‘In the end, I can say that Dr Schmutz is a great doctor and a great friend of the British health service.’
He added: ‘We are all delighted to welcome him to our laboratory and wish him a very happy and successful future.’
‘Great to see’ The University of Munich said Dr Schmetz had been invited to join the team that developed a new form of prosthetic limb, which it described as ‘an outstanding achievement’.
‘Dr Schmitzes work is an example of excellence, scientific creativity and patient-centered care, as demonstrated by his participation in the development of the prosthetic leg, which has already been clinically proven to function without any external devices,’ a spokesperson said in a statement.
‘His research, development and testing have been recognised with prestigious awards from the European Commission and the European Parliament.’
The news comes as a report from the US has highlighted the plight of Britons who can’t afford the expensive prosthetics used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease, and are forced to rely on charities and charities that cannot afford to care for them.
The report said it has seen a surge in people turning to charities, and that more than half of British citizens have received an application for help from a charity since the UK voted to leave in June.