Around 1 in 10 people in the UK don’t speak English as their first language. Research by Healthwatch found that people who experience language barriers face problems at all points of their healthcare journey. Miscommunication between patients and healthcare workers can lead to misunderstandings, misdiagnoses, and poorer health outcomes.
What impact do language barriers have on healthcare delivery?
When language barriers exist, patients may struggle to describe their symptoms while health and care providers may find it difficult to explain diagnoses and treatment plans. This can result in delayed or inadequate care, decreased patient satisfaction, and even compromised patient safety. This disproportionately affects ethnic minority communities and stands in the way of achieving health equity.
Data from the ONS suggests that over the next 25 years, net international migration will account for almost three quarters of UK population growth, meaning healthcare providers will have to adapt to a greater number of patients experiencing language barriers.
So, addressing language barriers in healthcare is crucial for ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare and improving health outcomes for all. Meeting the evolving communication needs of an increasingly diverse patient population is imperative and meeting these needs must be tackled head on.
Five minutes with Francesca, CardMedic’s Clinical Content Lead
“LEP patients who are unable to communicate with healthcare professionals effectively are not in control of their care. They might find themselves in a position where they’d like to share information with clinicians, but they don’t have the means to do so.”
Our Co-Founder Dr Rachael Grimaldi sat down with Dr Francesca Testa, our Clinical Content Lead, to discuss the challenges that limited English proficiency (LEP) patients face when trying to access healthcare. They talked about the importance of effective communication in clinical settings and the role that CardMedic plays in improving health equity for underserved populations. Â
Dr Grimaldi: Drawing on your background as a bilingual clinician, what do you think is the biggest obstacle that patients who experience language barriers face when it comes to receiving quality care?Â
Dr Testa: LEP patients who are unable to communicate with healthcare professionals effectively are not in control of their care. They might find themselves in a position where they’d like to share information with clinicians, but they don’t have the means to do so. This can be incredibly frustrating for them and can lead to delays in diagnosis.Â
It could also have a serious impact on patient safety, for example, if a patient has an allergy to a medication and is unable to communicate this to healthcare staff. In my opinion, quality care results from the partnership between patients and clinicians. If patients are not kept informed or are not empowered to self-manage due to language barriers, their care will be negatively impacted.
Dr Grimaldi: What problems have you encountered communicating with patients who experience a language barrier in your practice as an emergency doctor?
Dr Testa: From my experience, it’s very difficult to clinically assess patients when there’s a language barrier. The inability to take a thorough history can lead to delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis, and therefore delayed treatment. Particularly in emergency or acute settings, this can lead to rapid patient deterioration, which can be really dangerous.
In the past, I’ve had to rely on relatives to translate for the patient, and while in most cases patients are happy for their relatives to be present during a consultation, it can pose serious challenges to patient safety. Some of the questions we ask patients are very personal and they might not want to share this information with a family member. It also makes it impossible to explore any concerns about safeguarding or potential abuse if a family member is present.Â
“Traditionally, when discharging a patient from the emergency department, I’ve struggled to provide safety-netting advice when there’s a language barrier.”
It’s really important to me that my patients feel empowered and in control of their care. Traditionally, when discharging a patient from the emergency department, I’ve struggled to provide safety-netting advice when there’s a language barrier. If critical information on when to seek medical help or what to do in the presence of certain symptoms is lost in translation, this can have a detrimental effect on a patient’s health.
Dr Grimaldi: Why do you think solutions like CardMedic are so important for reducing health inequalities for underserved populations such as LEP patients?
Dr Testa: Solutions like CardMedic help clinicians carry out thorough clinical assessments, irrespective of language barriers. This leads to prompt diagnosis and management of patients, preventing the deterioration of symptoms and improving prognosis. CardMedic also allows patients to play an active role in their care by serving as an educational tool.
Patient education is really important in prevention and encourages patients to self-manage and take control of their treatment. It’s believed that up to 80% of medical information provided by healthcare practitioners is forgotten immediately. CardMedic helps to overcome this by offering digital flashcards that are accessible on smartphones and other devices, enabling patients to review and retain important medical information.
Dr Grimaldi: As Clinical Content Lead at CardMedic, you’re responsible for creating content and ensuring that content is inclusive and accessible. How do language barriers factor into the content that you create?
“When I write or edit content, I try to simplify the sentence structure and grammar as much as possible. This ensures that sentences can be translated into other languages easily.”
Dr Testa: At CardMedic, we ensure that our content is very easy to understand and completely jargon-free. We aim for a reading age of 8 (and a reading age of 6 for our Easy Read version). This means that our content can be understood by everyone, regardless of their educational background or literacy level.
When I write or edit content, I try to simplify the sentence structure and grammar as much as possible. This ensures that sentences can be translated into other languages easily. Since English is my second language and I have a basic understanding of other European languages, I’m well aware of the variability in grammar and sentence structure among different languages.
The challenge of language barriers in healthcare
As Francesca points out, patients who experience language barriers often find themselves lacking control over their healthcare, leading to frustrating delays in diagnosis and even compromising patient safety. In emergency settings, the inability to take a thorough medical history due to language barriers can result in delayed treatment and potentially life-threatening situations.
Relying on family members as interpreters, though a common practice, can present challenges to patient safety and privacy. Solutions like CardMedic play a crucial role in reducing health inequalities for underserved populations, enabling clinicians to conduct thorough assessments despite language barriers and empowering patients through education.
How CardMedic is helping to overcome language barriers
Overcoming language barriers is crucial to delivering equitable care. CardMedic offers digital flashcards to guide patients through common clinical interactions in 49 different languages. Among the language options are British Sign Language, as well as the most widely spoken refugee languages in the UK, including Ukranian.
CardMedic gives healthcare workers pre-interpreted conversations that are always with the clinician. This means that in situations where a human interpreter is unavailable, staff have an instant solution at the point of care that eliminates the uncertainty associated with computer translations and addresses the safety and confidentiality concerns of using a third party. Many of our customers are already reaping the benefits, including University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
Improve communication, improve health equity
Often the most deprived communities have the greatest number of LEP patients who are also less likely to engage with their healthcare team. CardMedic is helping to improve health equity for these deprived communities and empower underserved populations to understand healthcare staff. This enables them to play an active role in decision-making about their care, improving patient engagement and reducing health inequities.
Breaking down language barriers is vital for equitable access to healthcare and improved health outcomes. LEP patients face significant challenges in communicating their symptoms and actively participating in their care. CardMedic, with its multilingual content, offers a practical solution to bridge these communication gaps, empowering both patients and healthcare providers.
As population demographics change and net international migration grows, CardMedic’s role in reducing health inequities, improving health outcomes, and creating a more accessible healthcare system becomes increasingly important. In a world where language should never be a barrier to quality healthcare, CardMedic paves the way for a more inclusive and compassionate future in healthcare delivery.