The Home Office has ruled out raising English language care worker requirements despite the tragic death of a care home resident after foreign staff failed to explain the seriousness of her condition to emergency services.

Coroner Samantha Marsh wrote to the Home Office calling for action after the death of Barbara Rymmell at Ashley House in Somerset on 8 August 2022.

Marsh said: “By being unable to speak the native language of England with any proficiency I am concerned that deaths will continue to arise where those who are young, disabled, suffering from a mental impairment or who are elderly and in need of urgent medical help will not have this summoned for them if those who are engaging with emergency professionals are unable to communicate effectively.”

In his response, Tom Pursglove MP minister of state for legal migration and the border, said: “Raising the English language level in those routes which have an English language requirement would be very difficult, and imposing such a requirement on routes which do not have such a requirement would in some cases defeat the purpose of the route as it was intended.

“I absolutely recognise that ensuring the safety of those who require care is a very important issue, but the responsibility for ensuring that employees can fulfil the requirements of their role primarily rests with employers.”

Diane Mayhew, rights for residents campaign Manager at Care Rights UK, said the minister’s response was “beyond comprehension”, adding: “The coroner has stated that without tougher tests, deaths will continue, and with nearly 86,000 foreign care workers and home carers granted skilled workers visas in the last 12 months alone, that’s a significant number of lives that may be at risk as a result of foreign care workers unable to speak adequate English to explain the critical state a resident is in.”

Mayhew said the minister’s comment that it would be very difficult to assess and manage “higher standards” of care occupations was “unacceptable”, adding: “Surely, the very basic standards of care occupations must expect that those employed to care for vulnerable people should have a requirement to speak the English language. It is unimaginable to lose a loved one in such tragic circumstances, but particularly when this could have been prevented. This lady’s family must feel let down all over again after hearing this response from the Home Office minister.”

Nadra Ahmed, executive co-chairman of the National Care Association, said: “All recruitment, domestic or from overseas, must have the same ethos which ensure that staff are trained to a skill level which ensures that their knowledge will maintain the safety of those they support, and I believe that communications skills are part of that.

“With international recruitment we must ensure that those proposing to work in our sector are ethically recruited and have the necessary communication skills required. With the vast majority of those who need care and support in the UK with English as their primary language and therefore essential for clear communication, we must be setting the criteria at a level which meets the needs of those we support.”