§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether she will make a statement on the tests currently being carried out by the General Medical Council for overseas doctors seeking temporary registration.
(2) if she will make a statement on the tests currently being carried out by the General Medical Council for overseas doctors seeking temporary registration.
§ Mrs. CastleDoctors seeking temporary registration in this country have to satisfy the standards of the General Medical Council and the Temporary Registration Assessment Board. The council invited the established examining bodies to constitute this board; the council's aim is to protect the quality of430W medicine and surgery and ensure an adequate command of the English language. These minimum standards and the recent General Medical Council decision on the registration of doctors qualifying in the future in certain overseas medical schools do not reflect in any way upon the quality of medical care given by the very many overseas doctors who are already working in this country. These overseas doctors, without whose skilled and devoted service the NHS could not have functioned so successfully, will undoubtedly continue to enjoy the full confidence of their patients.