Call for tighter checks on out-of-hours doctors

A damning report by MPs has said there must be "immediate changes" to the way overseas doctors working shifts in the NHS are vetted.

The Health Select Committee called for rapid improvements to the way English-language competency is checked among GPs who travel to the UK for work.

An inquest in February criticised the current out-of-hours arrangements following the death of patient David Gray in Cambridgeshire in 2008.

He was killed by German doctor Daniel Ubani, who administered ten times the normal dose of diamorphine.

Dr Ubani admitted being exhausted after getting only a couple of hours sleep before starting his shift in the UK, and said he was confused about the difference between drugs used here and in Germany.

The report also called for Primary Care Trusts to tighten their checks on the quality of care provided by companies contracted to work for the NHS.