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449851
registered interest false more like this
date less than 2016-02-02more like thismore than 2016-02-02
answering body
Department of Health remove filter
answering dept id 17 more like this
answering dept short name Health more like this
answering dept sort name Health more like this
hansard heading Health Professions: Migrant Workers more like this
house id 1 more like this
legislature
25259
pref label House of Commons more like this
question text To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of (a) the EEA, excluding the UK and (b) non-EEA countries who are (i) doctors, (ii) dentists, (iii) other dental care professionals and (iv) nurses have been (A) suspended and (B) brought before a fitness to practise panel by their professional regulator as a result of poor English language skills in the last three years. more like this
tabling member constituency Bristol North West more like this
tabling member printed
Charlotte Leslie more like this
uin 25540 more like this
answer
answer
is ministerial correction true more like this
date of answer less than 2016-02-08more like thismore than 2016-02-08
answer text <p>The information requested is not held by the Department. The nine <a href="http://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/regulators/statutory-regulators-directory" target="_blank">health and care professional regulatory bodies</a> within the United Kingdom are responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of their statutory duties including fitness-to-practise (FtP) investigations against their registrants. Relevant information provided by the General Medical Council (GMC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and General Dental Council (GDC) is included below.</p><p> </p><p>The GMC reports that four European Economic Area (EEA) doctors and no non-EEA doctors have appeared at a FtP tribunal <del class="ministerial">and been suspended</del> due wholly or partly to lack of English language skills, since its legislation changed in June 2014 to introduce inadequate English language skills as a grounds for finding a doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired. <ins class="ministerial">Of the four, two were suspended and two had conditions imposed on their registration. Conditions restrict a doctor’s practice or require them to take remedial action. In these cases, the purpose of conditions is to help protect patients while allowing the doctor to remedy any deficiencies in their practice or knowledge of English. </ins>In addition, since the GMC was given new powers in relation to the language skills of doctors, it has dealt with 3,289 registration applications from EEA doctors. 1,970 of them were able to demonstrate that they met the English language requirements as part of their application and were granted registration with a licence to practise. 1,319 doctors were registered but have not been granted a licence to practise either because they did not provide any evidence of their English language skills or the evidence they provided was insufficient. Doctors cannot practise in the UK without a licence to practise.</p><p> </p><p>The NMC reports that until legislative change took effect in January 2016, it did not record poor English language skills as a case type within FtP. Previously all cases were recorded under an umbrella category of ‘Lack of competence – communication issues’. This category covered a range of communication topics including failure to delegate appropriately. Since the new language control power was introduced in 2016 the NMC has been coding English language skills as a separate code.</p><p> </p><p>The GDC reports that following an update to its Standards in 2013, it takes the requirement to be sufficiently fluent in written and spoken English into account when assessing FtP cases. Since this change there have been no suspensions and one EEA Dentist has been struck-off the GDC register where the category of ‘not fluent in English’ was recorded as a consideration. The GDC notes that as a result of recent legislative change, it is taking forward associated changes to registration processes and FtP rules, which will result in further language control requirements being introduced by the end of summer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
answering member constituency Ipswich more like this
answering member printed Ben Gummer more like this
question first answered
less than 2016-02-08T14:54:34.797Zmore like thismore than 2016-02-08T14:54:34.797Z
question first ministerially corrected
less than 2016-03-01T17:55:31.107Zmore like thismore than 2016-03-01T17:55:31.107Z
answering member
3988
label Biography information for Ben Gummer more like this
previous answer version
44025
answering member constituency Ipswich more like this
answering member printed Ben Gummer remove filter
answering member
3988
label Biography information for Ben Gummer more like this
tabling member
3933
label Biography information for Charlotte Leslie more like this