Research finds Doctors.net.uk members welcome ban on foreign doctors with poor English skills

Dec. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- The poll of more than 620 doctors found many of them believed that the move, which will give NHS trusts in England a statutory duty to check the English skills of all new overseas doctors, should have been made a long time ago.

However, there was concern among many of the respondents, who included GPs as well as secondary care doctors, about how English language ability would be measured and what standards would be used.  

One doctor, who agreed with banning in principle, was concerned the policy would be impossible to police; while another was worried about the possibility of doctors suing for unfair restriction under EU employment law, which states that candidates from within the EU are exempt from mandatory language tests.

Another respondent who was a foreign doctor working in the UK suggested that the IELTS (language proficiency test) should be introduced for EU doctors as well in order to qualify with the GMC to work in the UK. At the moment only non European Economic Area (EEA) doctors – for example those from places like Pakistan and Canada – are required by the GMC to complete IELTS.

One member asked how the new law would affect foreign doctors who wanted to gain work experience in the UK but were unable to speak fluent English.

Andrea Thornton, Manager of the Recruitment Division of Doctors.net.uk, said: “As the results of this poll indicate, good English language skills are a pre-requisite for foreign doctors who want to work in the country.

“The Government’s decision to require NHS trusts to test all foreign doctors’ English language skills as part of the recruitment process represents an important step in raising standards in this area.”

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Doctors.net.uk is the largest and most active network of medical professionals in the UK.

Doctors.net.uk has a membership of over 189,000 doctors, with 97 per cent saying that the network is their most trusted source of information.

It is the online resource most frequently used by them and provides forums for discussion, education and extensive editorial content, including conference highlights to support them in making the best decisions for the care of their patients.

The network was created for doctors, by doctors in 1998. More than 300 doctors now act as advisers and clinical information contributors. Credibility and integrity of all published materials is assured thanks to an experienced editorial team and a code of absolute transparency for all information published.