Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-10-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 16 September (HL1576), what is their assessment of the proportionality of a requirement for detailed knowledge of clinical English for a consultant employed within the NHS.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Department has made no assessment of the proportionality of a requirement for detailed knowledge of clinical English for a consultant employed within the National Health Service.
NHS employers are expected to ensure that any doctors seeking employment in the NHS have the skills needed to carry out their job safely and competently, including the appropriate level of English language.
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of doctors in the United Kingdom. Without a licence to practise from the GMC, a doctor cannot practise in the UK. Any doctor who cannot provide sufficient evidence to the GMC that they have the English language skills needed to practise safely in the UK will not be given a licence to practise.
The GMC also has powers to take fitness to practise action where concerns are raised around a doctor’s language competence who is practising in the UK.
