No Competence Tests for Foreign Nurses?

Foreign nurses from the European Union wanting to work in Britain will no longer have to take competence tests after the Nursing and Midwifery Council announced that it will be putting an end to such tests since it infringes on a EU law. There are strict requirements from nurses of other countries if they want to work either in hospitals, surgeries or care homes in Britain. Apart from the competence tests, nurses have to prove that they have the experience of managing patients for at least 450 hours over the past three years in their own country or enroll in an intensive three-month course to hone up their nursing skills.

This was found to be in violation of the EU law on freedom of movement for workers from the continent which meant that Nursing and Midwifery Council was vulnerable to a lawsuit from the European Commission.

However a number of organizations including the General Medical Council, British Medical Association and the Department of Health are against the decision to drop the tests.

“The Government is committed to stopping foreign healthcare professionals working in the NHS unless they have proven their competence and language skills”, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said.




Source-Medindia