Britain’s socialised healthcare system has reportedly lowered its standards for “critical thinking” and proficiency in the English language for foreign nurses amid growing shortages.

According to a report from The Daily Telegraph, the National Health Service is facing a shortage of nearly 40,000 nurses. An investigation from the British broadsheet found that in order to cope with the lack of nurses, it has lowered its standards for some overseas applicants.

The paper found that English language ability requirements have been lowered for nurses from India and the Philippines, which represent the two largest pools of foreign nurses for the UK.

The investigation went on to say that critical thinking standards have been lowered for India, while nurses from the Philippines are no longer mandated to have two years of real-world experience before coming to work in the UK’s socialised healthcare system.

A spokesman for the Department of Health denied that changes have been made, claiming: “Any applicants would still have to meet these robust standards set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council to ensure patients receive the best possible care.”

The government is also said to be considering signing a deal with Nepal to bring thousands of nurses to Britain from the Himalayan country. The Telegraph noted that it would be a controversial move as Nepal is on the World Health Organization’s red list of developing nations that do not have enough healthcare workers.

Britain’s socialised healthcare system, which has long-struggled with recruiting domestically, has previously been accused of ransacking poorer countries of their healthcare workers.

Last year a group of doctors wrote in the South African Medical Journal that the UK’s generous package of support and visa waivers for foreign healthcare workers only serves to further exacerbate the “brain drain” of medics in poor countries.

Prof Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians said that Britain has to learn to be “self-sufficient”, saying: “I do think that it is outrageous that we should rely on other countries to train our doctors for us, when we live in a country with more than enough infrastructure, in theory, to do it ourselves.”

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