Communication support on every shift, not just the hour an interpreter is booked
The largest single-site cancer centre in Europe, and the first specialist hospital rated Outstanding twice by the CQC, deployed CardMedic to cover the conversations a booked interpreter could not reach.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
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Over 100
Nurses, doctors and pharmacists using it
Within the deploying teams, not Trust-wide
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1 of 12
Hours of a shift an interpreter was typically present
Described by the Trust before deployment
The situation
In cancer care the stakes attached to understanding are high. A patient who cannot follow their treatment plan is less likely to engage with it, keep up with medication, or report symptoms that matter. Cancer Research UK reports around 20,000 more cancer cases a year in deprived areas, where limited English proficiency is more concentrated and late diagnosis more common.
What the Trust described
Bethany Allen, Oncology Staff Nurse and Digital Nurse Implementer, put the gap plainly: on a twelve-hour shift the ward would typically have an interpreter present for about an hour, for the most important conversations. For the remaining eleven, communication could be very difficult.
What was deployed
CardMedic was made available on the devices staff already carried, for use during ward rounds and across the shift. The Trust co-created oncology-specific content, and nominated digital champions and ward superusers to support uptake.
What happened next
Use spread beyond nursing. Pharmacists began using it to discuss medication directly with patients, including the chat function for questions about a specific drug. The Trust reported improved consistency of information, reassurance during sensitive conversations, and a reduced reliance on face-to-face interpreters for the short exchanges that were previously going unsupported.
“Since using CardMedic, we have been able to bridge a major gap in service provision and be assured that we are communicating with patients effectively and sensitively, which is essential in cancer care.”
How to read this
The benefits described here are reported by the Trust from its own deployment. They were not measured against a pre-deployment baseline, and they describe the teams that adopted it rather than the whole organisation.