Checks to see if foreign out-of-hours doctors can speak English 'go against EU rules'

Published 12th Mar 2010

Britain is sticking rigidly to EU rules that outlaw checks on foreign doctors' language skills while France flouts them, it emerged yesterday.

Britain is complying with the regulations even after the death of David Gray, who was killed by a German doctor with poor English skills, the General Medical Council said.

Health minister Mike O'Brien concedes we are 'stuck' with the rules for two years.

The GMC, which regulates doctors, also revealed the French get around the ban by not having tests as such, but by inviting prospective foreign GPs in for interview to check their language skills.

The council met Health Secretary Andy Burnham last week to demand an end to the ban on checks - but were told it could mean fines from Brussels.

Yesterday the Commons health select committee held a one-off session after a report last month criticised the current system following pensioner Mr Gray's death in Cambridgeshire in 2008.

Dr Daniel Ubani had given him ten times the normal dose of diamorphine.

GMC chief executive Niall Dickson said that his organisation had written 22 letters to its German equivalent about Dr Ubani but had received no reply.

He said the extent of sharing of information between countries on doctors who had been disciplined was 'profoundly unsatisfactory'.

He went on to demand the repeal of the 1983 Medical Act, which enshrines into British law an EU directive that doctors should not face language tests.

The ban was imposed after Margaret Thatcher backed down in the face of the threat of an EU fine for breaking a directive on the free movement of workers.

Checking the language status of doctors was said to breach such regulations.

Mr Dickson said: 'Free movement of labour is fine but, in our view, patient safety trumps free movement of labour. The level of communication across Europe is unsatisfactory.

'If you have free movement of labour, you should have free movement of information.'

Labour MP Howard Stoate, a member of the committee who is also a GP, said the French position was a typical 'le fudge'.

'They get away with it, and we don't,' he said.

Mr O'Brien said he applauded the GMC for trying to get the directive changed, but insisted the UK was pretty much 'stuck for the moment' with it - until it comes up for renegotiation in 2012.

He said Department of Health lawyers had told him no changes could be made at present.

Professor Steve Field, head of the Royal College of GPs, who also gave evidence, said he supported the GMC in its call to be able to test language skills.

He said changes should be made 'urgently, irrespective of the election'.

He said: 'I think it's really, really important,' adding that he believed overseas GPs should have to spend three months in the UK if they were serious about working here.

A huge postcode lottery exists in the quality of NHS outofhours provision.

Some areas spend 16 times more on GP cover at weekends and in the evenings than others - while complaints over poor provision are almost three times higher in some districts.

The figures were revealed in a Freedom of Information request by the Patients Association.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

View All Nonsense News