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Express
May 9, 2014
FOREIGN care workers should sit compulsory tests to make sure they have an adequate command of English, the Government was told yesterday.
Poor language skills could lead to bad treatment and even abuse as elderly patients struggle to make themselves understood, said Dr Shereen Hussein, a scientific adviser to the Department of Health.
To have people who cannot speak, read or write even basic English in charge of medication and with a responsibility to follow medical instructions is a recipe for disaster, she said.
Immigrants from countries outside of Europe such as Pakistan and India already have to prove they can speak English before they settle here, but those from the EU do not.
Dr Hussein, of King’s College London’s Social Care Workforce Research Unit, is now calling on agencies who recruit people as carers to make sure staff can speak English. She said: “Workers are placed in the homes of vulnerable adults with complex needs and communication problems can result in bad treatment.
There are currently 1.2 million care workers in England and 204,000 of them are foreign. From March 2015, care workers will be expected to hold a certificate showing they have been properly trained – but English ability is not included.
