The policy required Filipino-American employees to speak in English except when speaking to a patient with other language needs or during break time.

FORBES: English-Only Policies in the Workplace: Are They Legal? Are They Smart?

The 12-page article in current affairs magazine Stern, which sells around one million copies a week, paints a damning portrait of modern Britain under the title of The English Patient.

BBC: Row over 'crisis-hit' Britain article

They are part of a package of measures announced by the prime minister for the English NHS to tackle what he sees as a "real problem" with patient care.

BBC: Nursing standards: PM aims to tackle 'care problem'