EU Enlargement (Hansard, 15 March 2004)

§ Miss McIntosh
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the free movement of(a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) dentists from the EU accession countries on the national health service after 1 May. [159201]

§ Mr. Hutton
Under the Accession Treaty of 16 April 2003, the new States must ensure that the qualifications they award to doctors, general nurses, midwives and dentists, in respect of training begun on or after 1 May 2004, meet specific minimum requirements.
The qualifications they award in respect of training begun before then and which do not meet those requirements are also eligible for recognition but subject

All practitioners¹ per 100,000 of weighted population² for London by PCT as at 31 March 2003

Population All practitioners¹ All practitioners per 1,000 population All practitioners per 100,000 population

England 48,962,969 32,865 0.7 67.1

of which:

London 6,984,254 4,855 0.7 69.5

of which:

Q04 North West London

5AT Hillingdon PCT 218,529 153 0.7 70.0

5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 156,901 104 0.7 66.3

5HX Ealing PCT 302,552 207 0.7 68.4

5HY Hounslow PCT 208,598 126 0.6 60.4

5K5 Brent PCT 265,704 202 0.8 76.0

5K6 Harrow PCT 179,698 137 0.8 76.2

5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT 162,850 127 0.8 78.0

5LC Westminster PCT 180,388 147 0.8 81.5

Q05 North Central London

5A9 Barnet PCT 293,766 227 0.8 77.3

5C1 Enfield PCT 245,320 148 0.6 60.3

5C9 Haringey PCT 225,029 169 0.8 75.1

5K7 Camden PCT 196,993 154 0.8 78.2

5K8 Islington PCT 179,449 130 0.7 72.4

114W
to certification from their national authorities of recent and substantial practice experience—normally three out of the five years preceding the date of certification. These "acquired rights" provisions are on the lines adopted on previous accessions.
Decisions about whether to offer employment to doctors, nurses and dentists from European Union accession countries are matters for local national health service bodies, taking into account the need to ensure the highest possible standards of public safety.

§ Mr. Burstow
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 3 March 2004,Official Report, column 1022W, on EU accession states, what safeguards will be put in place to ensure that patients are not put at risk if there are accession states that are not compliant with EU minimum requirements on medical training by 1 May. [161220]

§ Mr. Hutton
It is for the European Commission, which is closely monitoring the progress of Acceding States; to see that their obligations are met, The EC intends to update member states shortly. It is open to the regulatory bodies to require confirmation that applicants' qualifications meet minimum training standards or, if not, that they have had recent and substantial practice experience.

All practitioners¹ per 100,000 of weighted population² for London by PCT as at 31 March 2003
	Population	All practitioners¹	All practitioners per 1,000 population	All practitioners per 100,000 population
England	48,962,969	32,865	0.7	67.1
of which:
London	6,984,254	4,855	0.7	69.5
of which:
Q04 North West London
5AT Hillingdon PCT	218,529	153	0.7	70.0
5H1 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT	156,901	104	0.7	66.3
5HX Ealing PCT	302,552	207	0.7	68.4
5HY Hounslow PCT	208,598	126	0.6	60.4
5K5 Brent PCT	265,704	202	0.8	76.0
5K6 Harrow PCT	179,698	137	0.8	76.2
5LA Kensington and Chelsea PCT	162,850	127	0.8	78.0
5LC Westminster PCT	180,388	147	0.8	81.5
Q05 North Central London
5A9 Barnet PCT	293,766	227	0.8	77.3
5C1 Enfield PCT	245,320	148	0.6	60.3
5C9 Haringey PCT	225,029	169	0.8	75.1
5K7 Camden PCT	196,993	154	0.8	78.2
5K8 Islington PCT	179,449	130	0.7	72.4