Foreign doctors must speak English...

Seems an essential idea
I had a conversation about my house insurance recently with someone who hadn't got much English; the outcome was that I cancelled it and went elsewhere as we were getting absolutely nowhere. Luckily, unlike medicine it wasn't life threatening.

Absolutely. All the doctors we have come across of apparent European/ Asian/African origin have spoken impeccable English albeit occasionally with charming accents.

Nurses too would be nice. Was talking to a medical student who said they don't all...
Re doctors, try some poorer areas of the UK gracesmum - my poor MIL has had years of not really understanding many of her doctors (and there have been a few). Like many users of health care she is just a tiny bit deaf.
Last week she was surprised to meet a consultant that talked to her pleasantly and she could understand what he was saying.

About time!

Doctors coming here to work from abroad do have to pass certain tests, one of which may be a written/spoken English test.

I know this from a short spell spent working in an employment agency that imported foreign locums; needless to say the good ones were snapped up quickly.

Am not sure that it applied to Doctors coming in from within the EU though.

This should apply to teachers in primary/infant classes too! So many SA/OZ and NZ teachers who do not have a British English pronunciation of phonics!! Vowels in particular! one, two, three, four, five, sex!

Absolutely! I think the EU is a problem but it could be resolved if every applicant was tested for language skills regardless of where they came from. I recruited from the EU and some of them complained they should have been given more time for the tests but my attitude was that they would be working in the UK, with British colleagues and therefore had to have a good understanding of what we were doing.

suppose I'd better start taking lessons then!

Galen I have all sorts of responses in my head but would never be so rude to you!

well my native lingo is Black Country!

But I have lived in Brum and Solihull so I understand all Midlands lingo!

nanaej It's tricky when you start considering pronunciation, dialect and accents. People don't have to come from as far afield as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand for confusion to reign. When I moved from London to the North-east of England three years ago, the plug for the kitchen sink was missing. I went into a department store to see if they sold them and asked if they sold sink plugs. The middle-aged assistant stared at me blankly and I repeated my request. She still had no idea what I wanted until her colleague translated my request as sink ploogs.

nanaej

A Kiwi colleague asked me for a pin ... 'a safety pin?' I said as I rummaged through my drawer .... 'no a pin to write with' !

When we moved to the north east I had no idea what oxters were or where the lisk is on the body. And hives children always seemed to have hives.

I went to Fife once, and couldnt understand the shop assistants - or they me possibly.
And I was talking to someone from N Ireland once who was complaining they did not understand him on the fish stall in Swansea market. He was asking for:
hern.
I said if he wanted to request those fish he had to ask for he-rring with an emphasis on the first syllable.

When I was a dental student in my fourth year we acquired a new Professor of Prosthetic Dentistry, imported all the way from Melbourne, Australia.
It was the era of Monty Python's Flying Circus and the entire student body immediately referred to him as 'Bruce', both in and out of his hearing, talked about our pins and pincils, and of course the dintures we were busy making for our patients.
Sadly we couldn't understand a word of his lectures, but whether that was due to the accent or the content is debatable

Returning to the OP, EU qualified doctors at the moment don't have to take any test to prove their proficiency in English

There is also the issue, as I'm sure movealot can confirm, that many of these doctors are placed by employment agencies. So the agencies do all the screening and have a strong economic interest in "placing" their candidate before a/ another agency fills the post or b/ the agency incurs more costs.
There is an office that runs one of these not far from here. it is owned by James Khan I think.

There used to be a brand of sticky tape in Australia called Durex. Back in the 60s we had to explain to our Australian secretary what product had that brand name in the UK, it was amazing how quickly she began to call it sellotape.

On language and doctors, the doctors need not just to understand standard English but also be able to cope with the accent of the area they go to work in. Similarly, even if their have no problems understanding English and speak it perfectly, some of them have very strong accents that are impenetrable to their patients.

Jess . As you know I live in Fife although I come from 'darn sarf'. I've been here 32 years and can just about understand the Fife dialect : last week I was on a train with 5 friends - all Scots - making for Edinburgh frae Fife. The ticket inspector said something to us and they all looked perplexed - it was I, the only Englisher, who translated the fact that 'she would be back in 2 minutes as she had to go and open the doors for the next station'.

Sorry Jess I only know about agencies from the point of view of them supplying staff to me but I am sure you are right, agencies will do anything to place a candidate.

Agencies may well recruit doctors and dentists from abroad, but it's ultimately the responsibility if the employing NHS Trust to ensure that they have a registrable qualification, clinical references, enhanced CRB checks etc.

Speaking comprehensible English is vital in a doctor practising here. Failing to understand what is said could have serious consequences. Every non-UK doctor wishing to work here should have to pass a stringent language test.

Amazing how many British/American doctors expect to be able to practise in non Anglo-Saxon speaking English only though (:, especially in Switzerland where they get high salaries.

jane it may be their responsibility, but I would be surprised if they initial screening is not outsourced, including the language testing. This is what recruitment agencies do to justify their huge fees. (I am talking about locum posts here, suspect permanent doctor posts may be handled directly)
In other walks of life e.g. supply teaching agencies, the agency would do all the screening, interviews, CRB, etc and then forward copies of paperwork like CRB to the school.
If you put something like: "medical staff recruitment agencies" into google you will get loads, like this:
www.yourworldhealthcare.co.uk/job_list.php