Nurses from Eastern Europe put NHS patients in danger

[Arthur Little]

What I cannot get to grips with, IS ... ... if the GMC can override the EU on this crucial issue, then why can't the Nursing & Midwifery Council do likewise?

[Doc Alan]

What I cannot get to grips with, IS ... ... if the GMC can override the EU on this crucial issue, then why can't the Nursing & Midwifery Council do likewise?

The current disparity in the process for registration of EU and non-EU healthcare professionals, including nurses and midwives, was debated in the House of Lords last month.
The NMC say that it is " currently bound by EU law on the mobility of professionals, which leads to a less robust registration process for EU nurses and midwives ".

EU Directive 2005/36/EC Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications:
prevents us ( NMC ) from testing basic language competency,
contains no requirements for continuous professional development
and the rules on automatic recognition are based on minimum EU training standards that were set in the 1970s.
The current process presents a risk to patient safety, with concerns over EU nurses and midwives' language competence and knowledge of modern nursing standards.
Conversely, nurses and midwives from outside the EU must take the International English Language Test (IELTS) and are required to undertake the Overseas Nurses (or adaptation to Midwifery) Programme, a 20 day course with a three to six month period of supervised practice.

Hopefully all this means that things are about to change also for the nurses - the sooner the better .