The Liberal Democrats have called for doctors from other European Union countries working in the UK to be subject to tougher restrictions.
The party has called for exams to root out those with poor language skills and inferior medical training.
It follows the case of an out-of-hours GP from Germany who accidentally gave a patient a fatal overdose.
The Department of Health said primary care trusts were already legally bound to provide safe, high quality care.
Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb said: “I believe patients lives are at risk because standards across Europe are not uniformly good and because doctors can come into this country and practise in the NHS without a test of competence and language.”
Mr Lamb’s party will also press in the Commons for a new criminal offence under which hospital managers could face prosecution if they fail to carry out such tests.
There are almost 20,000 doctors from the EU qualified to work in the UK.
Read more at BBC Health.
Tags: Overseas doctors
