Poorly-trained foreign nurses will be allowed to work in Britain after completing only two days of role playing and multiple choice tests.
The short course replaces the rigorous assessments and exams currently undertaken by those failing to meet NHS standards.
To work on wards, nurses are likely to need to show only their skills on dummies, with no requirement to speak good English.
The shake-up is being imposed by the European Union, which says tests on foreign workers go against its freedom of movement laws.
Senior health officials fear the multiple choice assessments, which will begin in April, will be unrealistic and too easy.
Under the existing rules, any EU nurse whose training is deemed substandard must go on an intensive adaptation programme lasting up to six months before they can work in UK hospitals. The courses, which can cost up to £1,500, are run by universities and consist of theory tests, written coursework and practical exams in wards or nursing homes.
Although not directly assessed on their English, candidates would struggle to pass without good language skills.
The regime is so strict that only a quarter of the 8,000 EU nurses who apply to work in the UK every year see the process through.
Most are put off by the cost and difficulty of making the grade.
Those not up to scratch largely come from states relatively new to the EU such as Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Estonia and Latvia.
SOURCE
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