Tighter controls urged on healthcare workers from EU

The NHS Confederation said better measures including a European-wide alert system for regulators would protect patients from unsafe practice by incompetent or fraudulent workers.

The European Commission is currently reviewing a key directive to make it easier for professionals to work in other EU countries without having to fight their way through bureaucratic red tape.

But in its response, the confederation, which represents NHS trusts, called for exceptions for healthcare staff, arguing freedom of movement must not be at the expense of the safety and quality of care.

It says UK regulatory bodies including the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council must be able to check the qualifications and competence including language skills of doctors, nurses and others who come to work in the UK.

But it makes clear the primary responsibility for recruiting and assessing the ability of incoming professionals to do the job, including their language and communication skills, should remain with the employer.

Elisabetta Zanon, director of the NHS Confederation’s European Office, said: “Healthcare professionals from across the European Union are vital to the success of the NHS. They comprise nearly one in 10 of all doctors on the UK medical register so we could not cope without them.

“But there is a tension that needs resolving. On the one hand we have the understandable desire to simplify and speed up recognition of professionals. On the other, the NHS needs to ensure the right checks and balances are in place to protect patients from dangerous care from health professionals. We need to build a system that is both effective and efficient. It must above all else protect the safety of patients, without generating unnecessary and ineffectual bureaucracy.”