@NHS Do you trust Theresa May?

Every European I know can speak English perfectly, some even better than the English.
Anyone wanting to come here to be a nurse will have a degree. I don't know one EU country that doesn't have English as a second language.
Can you prove what you say, roses?
By the way, it's fewer, not less.

Are you going to pick up everybody's use of words/spellings dj because I see quite a lot on the forum, but am too good mannered to point them out.

What I wrote was taken from a letter to The Times from not last Saturday but the one before, from a firm which stated exactly that, and said it was the largest agency provider to the NHS and wanted to dispel the myth that Brexit had stopped nurses from EU countries from applying, but that it was the new ruling from 2016 about language.
If you are really keen, you could probably find it ( maybe online?) I was at DS's house when I read it.....it will not still be there for me to copy.

Again, first hand experience of hospital, last year, both myself and husband had great difficulty at times in either understanding what an EU nurse was saying, and they had difficulty understanding what we were asking.It varies greatly, there was a Spanish nurse who spoke English easily, but some who really didn't.

rosesarered nurses from Australia have to take the English test (at their own expense) - yes, stupid I know!
EU nurses do not.

Do all nurses need to take the IELTS test?

No. Nurses from the UK and the rest of the EU do not need to take an IELTS test. Only nurses from outside the EU need to take the test.

Please note: the situation regarding English language requirements for EU nurses and midwives is changing. From 18 January 2016 nurses and midwives from EU countries will have to provide evidence of their ability to communicate safely and effectively in English before they can practise in the UK. Nurses and midwives who cannot provide sufficient evidence will have to take an IELTS test

Well, there we are! thanks Jalima

I know because young in-law had to pay to take one - over £500!

I cannot think that the NHS was 'better under Blair' - especially if you had friends or relatives in the hell-hole that was Stafford Hospital.

They are planning to close one of our two A&E Units despite serving a population of half a million in Shropshire and Mid Wales.
Why does Wales not have its own A&E units - health is devolved and is run by the Welsh Assembly under Labour? One other thing they do not have in Wales is PFIs which are draining the NHS in England of funds. Wales should surely be providing its own A&E services.

I have always thought that Jane10 was one of our more 'grown-up' and reasonable posters

I picked up your grammar error, roses, because you were suggesting that the reason the EU nurses could not come was because they could not pass the English test.
It's the sort of thing that children are taught in primary school, but could easily be part of an English test.

No chance of me reading the Times. I'd have to pay to do it. Me pay Murdoch?

If you go to the supermarket they sometimes have papers in a rack to read free of charge

although you would probably have to buy a tea or coffee.

Thanks, Jalima, but it was a fortnight ago.

Maybe the young nurses can't speak english enough to pass a test but after a trial time on the wards -surely there must be one- they will have adjusted and their English will have improved enough to take the test and pass it.

This thing about taking in nurses from Australia shows the how poor UK thinking and planning is on these matters.

There surely can't be enough nurses in Australia who want to leave and come to the UK. It is my experience that when young Germans who are improving their English, that Australia is where they want to go to. Either that or NZ Florida or California.

What hypocrites these MPs are. I have just seen that 10 Tory MPs who spoke out against pay cap for nurses voted FOR it. They include three doctors, including Sarah Wollaston and my MP. Am just about to let him know what I think.

I'm sure I'll get some criticism for this but my view is that much of the strain on the NHS is created by the public. It is not your right to see a GP if you have a sore throat, the nurse practitioner can advise and prescribe if necessary. It is not your right to smoke, drink and eat as much as you like and the NHS will fix you. Your body and your health is your responsibility and if you don't look after it, don't expect the NHS to do it for you. It is recognised within the NHS that creating more capacity will just create more demand. It is time for individuals to look after themselves better to reduce rates of cancer, type 2 diabetes, COPD etc. And yes, I do work for the NHS and I personally would like to see it taken out of political control.

I agree with your last statement about political control JanieG as at present planning is so short term. However I think it's too simplistic to expect everyone to take control of their health as you describe. If there was a level playing field I could agree but there isn't. For example children born in poverty have a poor start in life and this can affect health for the rest of their lives. It is also much easier to feed a family healthily when you have the money to do so. I also worked for the NHS and saw first hand the health problems caused by deprivation.

Not at all sure about that suggestion Margaret as all kinds of medical mistakes could be made by somebody with a poor grasp of the language.You expect and deserve a nurse who you have confidence in, that can easily understand you and that you understand what they are saying.

JanieG- could have posted that myself! Completely agree (am ex NHS myself)

How dare the public be ill and want to use the NHS?

This thing about taking in nurses from Australia shows the how poor UK thinking and planning is on these matters.
That's because so many British nurses went to Australia

Fair exchange?
There are all kinds of reasons - a desire to travel, new experiences - or love?

And how dare they get cancer - even if they have eaten healthily and looked after themselves.
How irresponsible of them.

You've missed our point I think. There's no need to drink yourself to oblivion, get into fights and end up in A&E etc for example. There are straightforward public health messages that are ignored. If people took more personal responsibility for their own health there would be more time and money to provide the best care for those suffering from all sorts of accidents and diseases.

I really do not know anyone who went to see either a GP or a nurse practitioner for a sore throat. Not missing the point at all. You agreed with JanieG about that.

If you know someone who did, should you not have advised them accordingly?

I agree that people should take responsibility for their own health, but many health problems are not the fault of individuals, and it sounds quite smug to condemn those who for example are obese or drink excessively without knowing their personal circumstances. If you actually did try to see a GP for minor, self limiting illnesses by the way, you would have recovered by the time you could get an appointment!

We are human with all the weakness of the human condition. We aren't robots who always behave in the right way.

My GP friend can't believe some of the trivial reasons people demand an appointment for Eg a sore nose from blowing it while having a cold. These people do still have to be seen but it can only be at the expense of time and money that could be expended more usefully on ill or injured patients.
I don't know how people could be discouraged from seeking medical attention inappropriately though as sometimes it really is needed and it would be typical if the ones who don't like to trouble the doctor were the ones put off. No easy answers but nothing wrong with encouraging people to take some personal responsibility for their own health.

You've missed our point I think. There's no need to drink yourself to oblivion, get into fights and end up in A&E etc for example
Yes, I do realise - I have been in A&E with a possible fracture and seen people who have been there for dubious reasons and then decided it was not worth the wait and went home to suck a lozenge instead.