The failure of the NHS to provide formal training for doctors and nurses from the European Union (EU) could be putting patients at risk, according to a report from a House of Lords committee.
The findings suggest that EU legislation allowing the freedom of movement for healthcare workers is allowing medical staff to take jobs within the UK without proper vetting.
Currently, doctors and nurses from the continent can work within the UK without any formal NHS training.
The Safety First report also reveals that some countries fail to notify the General Medical Council when doctors have been struck off, while the NHS is accrediting European staff even if they haven’t worked in a hospital for more than a decade.
The report calls for an European-wide “sharing of information among educational establishments and practitioners” in order to ensure “minimum training requirements".
It also recommends a period of induction for those entering the NHS from abroad to ensure “healthcare professionals are aware of medical ethics and the legislative framework”.
The importance of language was also highlighted, with some healthcare professionals coming into the UK not speaking a suitable standard of English.
The problem of undertrained medical staff from outside the UK was highlighted by the case of Dr Daniel Ubani in 2008 who prescribed a huge overdose of diamorphine for one of his patients, David Gray.
Following Mr Gray’s death, it was discovered Dr Ubani, who came to the UK from Germany, did not have the required standard of training to practice medicine in Britain.
Baroness Young, who chaired the committee, said: “It is absolutely unacceptable that current EU rules put patients in the UK and elsewhere at risk.
“We recognise that mobility within the EU can bring significant benefits, but we have to make sure that this is not at the expense of patients health, care and confidence.”