GMC expresses doubt over EC plans to free movement of doctors across Europe

Abstract

Plans by the European Commission to simplify legislation that allows doctors to work anywhere in the European Union do not provide sufficient assurance of migrant doctors’ education, competency, or language skills, the General Medical Council has said. The United Kingdom’s medical regulator gave a stark warning about the commission’s proposals when giving evidence on 30 June to the House of Lords EU social policies and consumer protection subcommittee, as part of its inquiry into the mobility of healthcare professionals ( BMJ Careers 14 May, http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=20002963). Peers on the committee are holding the inquiry in response to the ongoing European Commission review of its directive on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, which aims to have all member states recognise each other’s healthcare qualifications and simplify the movement of clinicians across countries. Giving evidence to the Lords select committee, Peter Rubin, the GMC’s chairman, said, “We support the principle of free movement of doctors in the EU, and we …