Northern Ireland

Nurses will no longer have to sit controversial £150 English test

European and overseas nurses will no longer have to sit a controversial English test with a high failure rate
European and overseas nurses will no longer have to sit a controversial English test with a high failure rate European and overseas nurses will no longer have to sit a controversial English test with a high failure rate

EUROPEAN and overseas nurses will no longer have to sit a £150 English test - criticised for its high failure rate - as the only way of showing their competence in the language.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), which registers nurses in the UK, will announce today that it will accept staff who have sat the Occupational English Test (OET) - an alternative to the controversial International English Language Test System (IELTS).

The IELTS has been strongly criticised after it emerged that some highly-skilled Australian nurses were repeatedly failing the written part of the exam. Nurses from the Republic were also being asked to take the exam to work in Northern Ireland.

The OET is aimed at healthcare professionals and emphasises how to communicate with patients and colleagues.

The change will take effect from next month.

The NMC added that nurses and midwives who have qualified outside the European Union can show their competency in English by providing evidence they have gained a healthcare qualification taught and examined in the language, or practised in an English-speaking country and successfully passed a language test.

NMC chief executive Jackie Smith said foreign nurses make up around 15 per cent of its register.

"They are vital to the delivery of health and care services across the UK," she said.

"By accepting alternative forms of evidence we are increasing the options available for nurses and midwives to demonstrate they have the necessary command of English to practise safely and effectively, without compromising patient safety."

The Irish News revealed earlier this month that a £500,000 drive to recruit overseas nurses to the north's health service has so far only managed to fill 12 posts.

Recruitment trips to Italy, Greece, Romania, India and the Philippines, funded by the Department of Health, were made in May and June in a bid to fill 1,500 nursing posts.