'HIV test for African nurses' opposed

Plans by the British Government to introduce compulsory HIV tests for all new health staff working in the country have been strongly opposed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council ( NMC) and organisations working with HIV infected people.

The Nursing Council says the move has provoked a great deal of surprise and anger within the medical profession.

The plans were prompted by fears that hundreds of nurses recruited by the National Health Service (NHS) from Africa are carrying the virus that can lead to AIDS.

"It came as a bolt out of the blue to us when it was announced," the Head of NMC's Communications, Stuart Skyte, told the BBC World Service programme, Talkabout Africa.

He said if approved, the tests would be a condition of employment imposed by the council which has the powers to ensure that nurses must be in good health before being allowed to work.

But "the government does not define what good health means", Mr Skyte said.

"One can be HIV positive but in good health."

Speaking on the same programme, the Chief Executive of the National Aids Trust, Derek Bodell, termed recent media reports that nearly 700 infected nurses were last year recruited from Africa as unrealistic and a complete fantasy meant to scare the public.

Mr Bodell said although there are a few infected nurses recruited by the NHS, "we haven't got a blanket invasion of people who have been recruited abroad who are HIV positive."

Stigma

An official from the African HIV policy Network, Joshua Odongo, said the government's plan would only heighten stigma and the discrimination against African nurses working in the UK.

The UK is currently facing an acute shortage of health workers and has been looking into new ways to recruit health workers from abroad.

It is, however, not clear when the government intends to introduce the policy, how frequent health workers would be required to test for HIV and whether a positive test would disqualify a nurse or a doctor from working in the NHS.

At present, HIV tests are voluntary and health workers do not have to undergo screening before working in the UK.

Those found to be infected are restricted in the type of work they can do.

Plans to introduce the tests emerged last year after Wolverhampton Health Authority discovered that it had recruited ten HIV positive nurses from southern Africa.

Doctors say there is no evidence that any patient in Britain has been infected by an HIV positive healthcare worker.