NEWS

REGULATOR TO CONSULT ON LANGUAGE ICN REITERATES COMPETENCY TESTING FOR EEA WORKERS ITS CALL FOR MORE NMC chief executive Jackie Smith The Nursing and Midwifery said: ‘We do already say to employers Council will hold a 12-week public that they should test for competence consultation on new English where there is any doubt.’ language competence requirements Under the NMC’s proposed for European Economic Area (EEA) changes, applicants will be able nurses registering in the UK. to demonstrate their language From later this year, the regulator competence in one of three ways. must have a general registration They could achieve the required score requirement that nurses and midwives in the International from the EEA English Testing have proficiency WHERE THERE IS DOUBT, WE System or hold a in English to ALREADY TELL EMPLOYERS pre-registration practise safely TO TEST FOR COMPETENCE nursing or midwifery and effectively. qualification which Under its new was taught and examined in English policy, which the regulator expects and which was 50% clinical interaction. to consult on from next month, Alternatively, they could have been registration applicants will have registered and practised for two years to demonstrate their competence in a country where the first language is in reading, writing, listening and English and they were required to pass speaking English. a language assessment for registration At an NMC council meeting last in that country. week, council member Anne Wright If applicants do not have this said ‘there is a difference between evidence, the NMC could require them testing for competence in a test and competence in a professional situation’. to take a language assessment.

EBOLA PROTECTION

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has repeated its call for safer working environments for nurses working in countries hit by the Ebola epidemic. World Health Organization (WHO) figures show that more than half of the 815 healthcare workers infected by the virus have been nurses and nursing assistants. Two thirds of all the healthcare workers who have contracted Ebola have died. ICN chief executive officer David Benton said: ‘Nurses are putting their lives at risk to care for others. ‘The devastating numbers of nurses who have lost their lives shows there is an essential need for significant strengthening of safety policies, and the provision of adequate protective equipment and appropriate training.’ WHO says health workers are 21 to 32 times more likely to be infected by Ebola than adults in the general population.

Patient concerns over low staffing levels revealed when leaving hospital, with the majority citing the main reason for the delay as waiting for medicines. Nearly one quarter of those who experienced delays waited for longer than four hours. More than 40% of patients said there were ‘sometimes or rarely or never’ ALAMY

Staff shortages are negatively affecting patients’ experiences of care, RCN general secretary Peter Carter has said in response to findings from the latest national NHS inpatient survey. The survey, published by the Care Quality Commission last week, looked at the experiences of more than 59,000 people who were admitted to one of 154 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England for at least one night during June, July and August 2014. Of those who responded to the survey, 84% rated their overall experience of inpatient care as seven or higher out of ten, with about one in four people rating it ten out of ten. A total of 78% of respondents said they ‘always’ had confidence and trust in the nursing staff that treated them. However, 42% said there were delays

Action is required to address nursing shortage

enough nurses on duty to care for them, whereas six out of ten respondents said there were ‘always or nearly always’ enough, compared with 59% in 2013. Dr Carter said: ‘These results show that patients are feeling the impact of low staffing levels, and that is unacceptable. ‘Too often concerns about low staffing levels are ignored, but when 40% of patients say there are not enough nurses, immediate action is required. The key to good care is having the right numbers of nursing staff with the right training in the right places. This is still not happening.’ He called on the government and Health Education England to urgently explore the options for increasing nurse training places this year. The 2014 survey is the twelfth annual national survey of adult inpatients. To read the survey results go to tinyurl.com/nwar2d3

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Regulator to consult on language competency testing for EEA workers.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council will hold a 12-week public consultation on new English language competence requirements for European Economic Area (...
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