It has been revealed that a Nurse whose English is so poor that it 'puts patients Lives At Risk' has been allowed to carry on working in the NHS regardless as it would be 'disproportionate' to suspend her from her role.
According to a report in the Daily Mail:
A Romanian nurse who put patients' lives at risk because her English was so poor she couldn't answer simple questions has been permitted to carry on working.
Rodica Olteanu, 34, wasted crucial time as she struggled to communicate with a 999 operator when a patient was taken seriously ill.
The individual involved in the case has been allowed to keep her role, even though she was unable to understand a 999 operator's English clearly.
It's clear that anyone who is involved in direct contact with patients needs to have more than just a 'working grasp' of English - surely anything less than this and there is a serious danger to life.
Emergency situations usually require actions to be taken immediately, and even a small delay for clarification reasons could make the difference between life and death.
For a nurse, it is also vital to have the ability to get clear details from the patient, and anyone who is in distress may not have the ability to repeat certain pieces of information over and over again for the benefit of a medical professional whose grasp of the language is less than satisfactory.
The main problem here is that any manager or employer who picks up on an employee's language difficulties will often be accused of 'discriminating' against them when the reality is that a 'common sense' approach is required.
How many times have we seen common sense take a back seat when political correctness is involved?
During various debates in the past, political figures such as Nigel Farage have said that a points-based system would be the most logical approach to immigration, and a huge factor in this is that potential applicants would get credit for having a high standard of English.
This would form part of an overall approach that would ensure that anyone applying to work in the UK would be suitable - healthcare or otherwise.
The problem with the EU-based system in the past is that anyone with a European Union passport has had the right to work in the United Kingdom, with all decisions on suitability based on the employer's discretion.
NHS concerns were clearly a major factor for many people who voted in the referendum, and many Trump voters in the USA also had healthcare at the top of their list.
