Half of surgeons say they are "very or somewhat likely" to move overseas to work, according to a recent membership survey by the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh.
Nearly half (45%) of those who responded said they are planning on leaving the workforce within the next five years.
Of this group, 43% said it was because they were unhappy with the direction of the NHS.
Countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada are popular destinations for UK medics due to higher levels of potential remuneration as well as a better work-life balance.
Three in four respondents said they have considering going abroad to work, with 50% saying it is "very or somewhat likely" that they will move overseas in future.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh was founded in 1505 and has 15,000 members across the UK.
A total of 253 responded to the survey.
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It comes after a separate survey of GPs in Scotland found that one in four expect to quit their practices within the next two years.
Professor Rowan Parks, president of the College, urged ministers to prioritise staff retention to prevent a "potentially devastating" loss of talent.
He said: “These results are deeply concerning, but unfortunately, they do not come as a surprise.
"We have been calling for greater clarity and detail around workforce planning for several years, but the Government is yet to set out the ways in which it plans on retaining healthcare workers in the face of the chronic staff shortages we’re continuing to see.
“Given the ongoing surgical backlogs across the UK, it is more important than ever to have a robust surgical workforce that can plan for the future, so it’s worrying to hear how many of our members are considering leaving the NHS.
“It takes a very long time to train a surgeon, so if a large number of the workforce leaves in the next five years, we will be facing a potentially devastating skills gap, which will in turn have a negative impact on patient waiting times and outcomes.”
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It comes amid controversy after the UK government's health secretary Steve Barclay wrote to his counterparts in Scotland and Wales suggesting that they could send patients to England for treatment as part of efforts to clear waiting list backlogs faster.
As well as moving abroad for work, almost a quarter of respondents said they have considered pursuing a new career outside of healthcare.
Of these individuals, 56% said this was motivated by the quest for a better work life balance.
Changes to pension allowances announced by the Chancellor in the Budget earlier this year were seen as a major step in potentially halting an exodus of senior clinicians from the NHS, but Prof Parks said it "remains to be seen" what impact this will have.
From April 2024, the lifetime allowance - the maximum savers were allowed to have in their pension pot before it was subject to tax - will be abolished, while the annual allowance has been hiked from £40,000 to £60,000.
The previous situation had been criticised as penalising consultants and incentivising them to retire early in order to avoid massive tax bills once their pension pot exceeded £1.07 million.
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Professor Parks said offering "more flexible working" to surgeons at the later stages of their career could also persuade more of them to stay in the profession for longer, rather than retiring.
He added: “A real focus on wellbeing for all NHS staff could also make a huge difference.
"Simple additions to the workplace like staff rooms, canteens, and availability of hot food would go some way to making healthcare workers feel more valued and could therefore improve retention.
“It’s no surprise that the lack of these basic measures is making NHS staff feel undervalued and leading them to look overseas, or even to other professions, for work.
“These survey results reinforce what our members have been telling us for a long time and highlight just how urgently workforce retention needs to be prioritised in the NHS.”
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