Hundreds of foreigndoctors gountested

Hundreds of overseas doctors registered to work in the NHS have not been checked for their language skills or competency.

Fewer than one in four doctors are properly verified despite the the case of a German doctor who killed a pensioner in his care, according to new data.

The investigation by Pulse newspaper also suggests many NHS trusts in England have no accurate record of whether a doctor has been checked.

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Dr Daniel Ubani’s poor English meant he was refused work by the NHS in Leeds but was later accepted in Cornwall and then Cambridgeshire. He killed a patient by giving him a massive overdose of diamorphine.

A survey of records from more than 100 primary care trusts (PCTs) shows hundreds of foreign doctors are included on “performers lists” without having been checked.

A total of 108 PCTs responded to questions from Pulse following a Freedom of Information Act request. Of 35 PCTs, just 23 per cent of EU doctors had undergone language tests and more than 300 had not.

Of 20 PCTs that were able to provide details about tests on clinical competence, just 17 per cent of doctors had been tested.

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But 74 of the trusts who responded admitted they did not collect data on checks.

Of these, many said doctors had not been checked because the requirement had only been introduced this year or was only being applied to new applicants.

This included NHS Cambridgeshire, the trust in which the pensioner was killed, which has 29 non-UK EU doctors on its lists but has only tested 10.

The General Medical Council and the Government are currently discussing EU rules which apparently prevents the GMC checking the language skills and competence of doctors.

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They have written to PCTs to remind them it is their legal responsibility to check doctors.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said: “The Pulse survey appears to show worrying failings in the system of employer checks, which could put patients at risk."

Pulse editor Richard Hoey said: “PCTs work in a difficult financial environment, and some of the criticism they get is unfair.

“But in this case they are shirking on the cost of testing an average of just 10 doctors each, and risking a far greater cost in human life.”

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