The Royal College of Nursing believes that the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) should be able to test international registrants for English literacy to ensure high standards of care and patient safety are maintained.
In response to the Government’s Green Paper Modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive, Dr Peter Carter, the RCN’s chief executive & general secretary, said it is correct that nursing and other health professions have the right to be employed across the EU. “Patient safety will always be the top priority for nurses and other healthcare workers, so it is important that, where certain standards and criteria are set, they are met by all staff, regardless of their background. “The RCN believes that regulators, such as the NMC, should be able to test for language competency and that this requirement should be anchored in European law.” UK nurses are required to register every three years with the NMC and demonstrate that their skills are up to date. However, the NMC is required to register a nurse from another EU country even if their skills are not up to date or they have not worked as a nurse for several years. “There is a responsibility placed on employers to ensure the language skills of all staff are of a high enough level to allow them to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues. Therefore, we would like to see checks in place to ensure continuing levels of competence for all health professionals,” said Mr Carter. “This is not to discriminate against nurses from any particular country, but rather to ensure the highest standards of care and patient safety are maintained and any barriers to that effect are removed.”
