Foreign nurses on the public payroll are expected to learn basic Maltese medical terminology within one year of engagement, the Health Ministry said.

This was one of several initiatives taken to minimise language barriers with patients, according to a ministry spokesman.

There were 290 foreign nurses employed with the national health service at the end of 2015. They made up nine per cent of the nursing workforce, which stood at 3,132, figures obtained from the ministry showed.

The nurses coming from EU and non-EU countries have internationalised public hospitals and helped plug a staff shortage, which the spokesman attributed to a numerus clausus introduced by previous administrations that limited the number of nursing students.

He added the government was working with all stakeholders to increase the number of nurses both in the short term and in the long term.

Asked whether the hospital’s customer care department received complaints from patients on language difficulties, the spokesman described the client relations with foreign nurses as “healthy”.

Foreign nurses have to provide a certificate at level six based on an international English language testing system before starting duties, he added. However, they are exempt from this if their nursing qualification or degree was taught in English.

But the Health Ministry is also running a course in basic Maltese language that leads to the attainment of a certificate in Basic Medical Maltese for the Healthcare Profession.

The spokesman said that the course is being coordinated with the Maltese language department at the University of Malta and the government’s Centre for Development, Research and Training.

“This certificate has to be presented before the confirmation of appointment within one year of commencement,” the spokesman said.