Foreign doctors 'must speak English'

Foreign doctors wanting to treat NHS patients in England will have to prove they have the necessary English skills, the government has confirmed.

Concerns were raised after a German doctor, Dr Daniel Ubani, gave a patient a fatal overdose on his first and only shift in the UK.

He had earlier been rejected for work because of poor English skills.

From April there will be a legal duty to ensure a doctor's English is up to scratch before they are employed.

Foreign doctors will have to prove they can speak a "necessary level of English" before they are allowed to treat patients in hospitals or in GP surgeries, the Department of Health said.

Dr Ubani had been refused work by Leeds Primary Care Trust, but was later employed in Cambridgeshire.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21547513
to me this stands to reason, and why have they left it so late for gods sake

I can't say I disagree with it. How can you do your job when you can't understand the language.

We had foreign doctors in the small town I lived in - they were British

i bet they didnt speak english

Yeah they did. The town imported a whole bunch of them. Guess there was no work for doctors back in the 70's.

aghh scots doctors then

Not a Scot among the lot - hey I made a rhyme

Most German Doctors that I have met speak very good English.
Herr Doktor Ubani doesn't sound very Kraut to me.
Maybe he has just got a German Pass-port.
Nearly every Turk here has one.

I went to a Chinese Doctor in Changchun once to have some stitches.
He didn't speak a word of English.
No pain killing injection, disinfectant etc and he was smoking a cigarrete.
He keep looking in my eyes as he was stiching my hand with an ordinary sewing needle and thread.
I asked my Translater why.
She said to see if it was hurting.
(it ment that I hadn't cut through any nerves).
A very good Doctor. My respects.

Dang