Every foreign recruit to NHS will have to take an English test: Ministers set to vote on law change in weeks

  • Nursing applicants from EU will have to sit language test from March
  • Midwives, dentists and pharmacists will also have to pass test 
  • Plans will overturn loophole in law which saw Brussels block move
  • The Commons could be asked to vote on a law change within weeks   

By Daniel Martin, Whitehall Correspondent for the Daily Mail

Published: | Updated:

From March nurses from the European Union will have their language skills checked before working for the NHS (file picture)

From March nurses from the European Union will have their language skills checked before working for the NHS (file picture)

Nurses from the European Union will for the first time have their language skills checked before working for the NHS, ministers will announce today.

From March, applicants from the EU will have to sit a language test if they cannot prove to medical regulators that they have adequate skills to communicate with doctors and patients.

It will finally overturn a loophole in the law which saw Brussels block the move, claiming it would infringe strict EU rules on the freedom of movement of workers.

While the rules were changed to allow language tests for EU doctors last year, they have now been extended to cover nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists as well as other dental professionals and technicians, from the EU.

The tests for nurses and midwives will be carried out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, as they already are for applicants from outside the EU, before foreign staff are allowed to register.

It was not clear last night what form the English assessment would take, such as whether it would be an oral test or a written one.

Hospitals are not allowed to employ staff unless they are signed up with the NMC – meaning that failure to pass the language tests will ban them from NHS work. EU dentists will have to prove their language skills to the General Dental Council, while pharmacists will have to do the same for the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Regulations will be laid before Parliament today, paving the way for a Commons vote on the move over the next few weeks. With cross-party support, it is hoped the law will be changed by March.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said the move was a major step forward for patient safety. There are concerns foreign nurses with poor English would be unable to understand instructions or even the words for numbers, so they can make up correct drug doses.

Frail patients also find it harder to explain to staff who cannot speak English well that they need food, water or help to go to the toilet – or even that they are in pain.

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said the move was a major step forward for patient safety (file picture)

Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said the move was a major step forward for patient safety (file picture)

Dr Poulter said: ‘These new powers will make it easier for regulatory bodies to carry out checks to ensure healthcare professionals have the necessary knowledge of English.’

HIRING FROM 27 COUNTRIES

Hospitals recruited doctors from 27 countries last year including Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Qatar and Australia.

Most were used to plug desperate shortages on wards, X-ray units and in A&E.

Figures obtained by the Guardian show 32 out of 160 trusts recruited 321 doctors from abroad last year. The true number is likely to be far higher. Separately, 2,957 doctors who trained overseas joined the General Medical Council last year. It is not possible to say how many went on to the NHS.

Dr David Rosser, of University Hospitals Birmingham, said it would take ten years to train up enough British doctors to fill the shortage.

The Department of Health said: ‘In the past five years we have seen a rise in British staff in the NHS from 88.9 per cent to 89.1 per cent.’ 

The number of nurses hired from abroad has soared in recent years as the number of British-trained nurses has failed to keep up with hospitals’ needs. As many as 20,000 full-time posts – one in 20 – are vacant. As a result, many trusts are going overseas and hiring up to 60 at a time. Last year no fewer than 5,778 nurses were hired by the NHS – a four-fold rise on the previous year.

A Mail investigation in November found hospitals are hiring hundreds of nurses from the EU without properly checking their English.

Healthcare regulators are already allowed to carry out language tests on staff trained outside the EU – but have been prevented from doing the same for those from the continent because of EU rules.

The Department of Health said: ‘Regulatory bodies such as the Nursing and Midwifery Council already carry out rigorous language testing of foreign healthcare professionals from outside the EU, so it makes sense to allow regulatory bodies to check applicants from inside the EU also.’

 

NHS

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