STARTING SEPT. 30 - Foreign nurses, midwives must take new program to work in UK

First posted 06:41pm (Mla time)
Aug 12, 2005
By Veronica UyINQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/top/index.php?index=1&story_id=46675

FOREIGN nurses and midwives from non-European Union countries who want to practice their profession in the United Kingdom need to complete a new overseas nurses program starting September 30, the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment said Friday.

London-based labor attach?Victor Julio Ablan said foreign nurses and midwives, including those from the Philippines, would need to register with the United Kingdom Nursing and Midwifery Council, the regulatory body for health care professionals in the UK, as a pre-requisite for employment in the country as nurses and midwives.

The program, which readies applicants for professional practice in the UK, consists of 20 days of rotected learning time?and possibly some period of supervised practice, said Ablan in his report to Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas.

At the same time, applicants should attain at least a 6.5 proficiency grade in the International English Language Testing System, he said.

For those whose applications are already in the pipeline, Ablan said a transitional arrangement would allow them to prccess placements in the UK through organizations approved for the purpose until the end of the period.

Filipinos in the UK number around 116,000, most of whom are nurses. #