§ Mr. Colin Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what qualifications are required to be held by anaesthetists working in the United Kingdom; if these are granted by foreign institutions; what arrangements are in force for their verification; and what steps are taken to ensure a satisfactory and proper proficiency in the use of the English language.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe only formal requirement for a doctor to hold a post in the National Health Service is that he be registered with the General Medical Council. Anaesthetists in the more senior grades would normally be expected to hold appropriate postgraduate qualifications, but it is for the appointments committee for the post in question to decide whether the doctor is adequately qualified.
Under the Medical Acts the registrar of the General Medical Council is required to satisfy himself that a doctor applying for registration has the knowledge of English necessary, in the interests of himself and his patients, for the practice of medicine in the United Kingdom, except in the case of doctors who are nationals of, and trained in, a member State of the European Community where, in respect of hospital doctors, the responsibility rests with the employing authority.