The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting has ruled that nurses coming to work in the UK from overseas must pass a compulsory language test.

Forum Response: Royal College of Nursing

Dee Borley, director of Nurseline at the Royal College of Nursing, told ePolitix.com: "If language tests improve patient care then this is good for everyone including nurses.

But language testing is only part of the bigger picture of communication skills. Many of the issues are the same whether the nurse is from, for example, the Philippines or France. Internationally recruited nurses who have taken the British Council language test have told us that understanding colloquial expressions such as 'can I spend a penny' and being able to relate well to patients and colleagues is about communication rather than standard English.

"Language testing is part of a package of measures announced by the UKCC, and needs to be seen in this context. The RCN particularly welcomes the proposal to undertake educational audits of areas where internationally recruited nurses and midwives do supervised practice. This will help raise standards in areas where there is room for improvement."