UK - Foreign doctors English test made easier

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 21 Jul 2003 - 0:00 PDT


The General Medical Council (UK) is considering scrapping its English language test for doctors who train overseas.

It is also considering making it easier for doctors from outside Europe to take up jobs in the NHS.

The move follows claims that the current rules discriminate against some overseas doctors.

The proposals have been issued for consultation and would need a change in the law before they could come into effect.

But the GMC said the changes could be introduced within two years.

English test

At the moment, most doctors who train overseas are required to pass the International English Language Testing System.

This test is run by the British Council and tests a person's ability to speak, write, read and understand spoken English.

It is widely regarded as an objective test and a good demonstration of whether a person can communicate effectively in English.

Only doctors who have trained inside the European Union or in Iceland, Norway or Switzerland are exempt from passing the exam under European law.

The GMC is now considering scrapping that requirement. However, officials insisted that overseas doctors will still have to prove that they can communicate in English before they are allowed to practise in the UK if the changes are introduced.

Nevertheless, the rules could be relaxed significantly under the proposals.

Overseas doctors would be able to choose which English language exams they wished to sit.

'What we have traditionally done in the past is require everyone to take a particular test,' Richard Marchant, a GMC policy advisor told BBC News Online.

'That policy has come in for criticism for a number of reasons and we are consulting on whether it is really appropriate now.

'There are other exams around the world,' he said.

Rules relaxed

The consultation document also proposes easing the rules on what type of medical posts overseas doctors can take up in the UK.

At the moment, most overseas doctors are granted 'limited registration'.

This means that, unlike EU-trained doctors, they must work under the supervision of another doctor.

They are generally only allowed to take up recognised training posts within the NHS.

More than 3,500 overseas doctors were granted limited registration by the GMC last year.

They will have to demonstrate that they can work satisfactorily before they are granted full registration.

This enables them to take up other jobs without any restrictions.

Under the proposals, they would be granted full registration from the start.

Dr Shiv Pande, chairman of the British International Doctors Association, welcomed the proposed changes.

'It is high time these changes were made. The rules on registration should be uniform and universal.

'If there are restrictions, they should apply to everyone.'

• Additional
• References
• Citations