The Nursing and Midwifery Council is auditing the standards English language tests require of foreign nurses after hospital managers and recruitment agencies lobbied to have the pass rate reduced. The current language requirements led around 50% of nurses to fail or drop out of the test since 18 months , according to a recent report from healthcare staffing agency the Royal College of Nursing . However, patients' groups and HCL Workforce have warned that any drop in standards could jeopardise the safety of nursing practice.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council is auditing the standards English language tests require of foreign nurses after hospital managers and recruitment agencies lobbied to have the pass rate reduced. The current language requirements led around 50% of nurses to fail or drop out of the test since November 2014, according to a recent report from healthcare staffing agency HCL Workforce. However, patients' groups and the Royal College of Nursing have warned that any drop in standards could jeopardise the safety of nursing practice.