My Lords, I rise with some diffidence as the first layman to address your Lordships in this debate. I, too, thank the Minister for his statement and pay tribute to his department for the leadership that it has shown in securing from the Commission the remedying of what was a glaring and potentially dangerous anomaly in the 2005 directive. The Commission has produced a very satisfactory outcome.
I believe the United Kingdom is among the first member states, if not the first, to incorporate the changes introduced by the revised directive into legislation. I note that the order is headed:
“Health Care and Associated Professions”.
I hope the new language-testing arrangements will be incorporated as early as possible into other branches of healthcare—I have nursing in mind in particular. I think it is the experience of many that nurses from the EEA are almost invariably pleasant, caring and considerate. They of course play a huge role in this country, but I know that many patients have had difficulty in communicating and in making themselves understood.
There are many reasons why this is a matter of some urgency, but I will suggest just one. I think I am right in saying that the practice of putting great emphasis on patients’ notes goes back a long way in the UK; possibly more emphasis than some other member states, even those with advanced healthcare arrangements. It is therefore all the more important that nurses from the EEA are proficient not only in spoken but in written English, a point which the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, made in connection with doctors. As one facetious journalist put it,
“the difference between a microgram and a milligram is a coffin”.
I hope the Minister can give your Lordships the assurance that progress is being made in extending the provisions of the revised directive right across the
healthcare profession, not least with nurses. I hope that this will include the fitness-to-practise hurdle, which is so important in reinforcing the ongoing responsibility of the relevant regulators for their members.