CardMedic has been featured in a new report from Sands & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit’s Maternity Consortium Not Just an Option: Interpreting as an Essential Component of Safe Maternity and Neonatal Care. The report makes one thing clear: interpreting is not a “nice to have.” It is a critical component of patient safety.
Stark findings
The report examined the experiences of women and birthing people who faced language barriers and tragically lost their babies during pregnancy or shortly after birth. The statistics are sobering:
- Interpreting service failures have been linked to at least 80 cases of babies dying or suffering severe brain injuries in England between 2018 and 2022
- For 25 migrant women with language barriers whose babies were stillborn or died shortly after birth, 96% needed an interpreter, but 73% of healthcare interactions occurred without one.
- Too many were left unable to give informed consent at the most vulnerable time of their lives.
Consent is not a tick-box exercise — it’s the cornerstone of safe and respectful care. People should fully understand the risks or choices available, or their autonomy, safety, and dignity are compromised.
Why this matters now
Sadly, this is not an isolated finding. MBRRACE-UK reports show that Black women are much more likely to die during pregnancy or birth than white women, as are women from Asian backgrounds. Women living in the most deprived areas have a maternal mortality rate twice that of women living in the least deprived areas.
A rapid review into intrapartum stillbirths revealed that 43% of cases involved women whose first language was not English, with inadequate access to interpreters identified as a recurring and critical factor.
At the same time, NHS England’s Community Languages Improvement Framework (2025) has highlighted just how inconsistent interpreting provision is across the system.
Some areas provide high-quality, well-coordinated support, while others rely on ad-hoc arrangements — or even family members — in settings where accuracy and confidentiality are critical.
The broader context is no less urgent:
- Up to 50% of patients are estimated to face communication barriers at the point of care, from language and hearing loss to cognitive and literacy challenges.
- 69% of NHS staff report regular communication issues, and 89% feel current support is inadequate.
- Up to 30% of all clinical litigation is linked to communication failures.
How CardMedic helps
CardMedic was created by an NHS anaesthetist during the COVID-19 pandemic, when PPE made even simple communication almost impossible.
Since then, it has evolved into a digital platform that supports communication across the NHS and in healthcare centres across the globe. It was highlighted as a valuable communication tool in the Sands and Tommy’s report, as it was in NHS England’s patient safety healthcare inequalities reduction framework.
The app provides multiple benefits, such as:
- Instant access to live interpreters in 200+ languages (launched after the report was compiled).
- Clinically validated scripts in 50+ languages and accessible formats such as British Sign Language, Easy Read and Read Aloud.
- Offline use on any device, so that teams to access it anytime, anywhere.
- Support for digital consent and Martha’s Rule, helping ensure patients are fully informed and empowered.
In maternity care alone, the results are significant. Studies show that CardMedic helps increase patient understanding of staff from 67% to 95%. At Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, neonatal readmissions have dropped, and cost savings of £30k–£50k realised. When expanded to trust-wide access, these benefits are exponential.
Moving forward
The Sands & Tommy’s report calls for clear national standards, proper funding for interpreters, and safeguards for the ethical use of AI in interpreting.
CardMedic supports these recommendations wholeheartedly. Technology should complement, not replace, professional interpreting, so that no woman or birthing person is left without a voice in their care.
Equitable care is the right care. No mother or baby should be put at risk simply because of a language barrier.
👉 Discover CardMedic: cardmedic.com/book-cardmedic-demo
