Foreign Patients At Biggest Risk From NHS Jargon

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 10 Jun 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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After last Wednesday's revelations that NHS jargon could be affecting patient health, Thames Translations' MD Simon George raised concerns that the needs of foreign patients could be missed in the rush to remove jargon from communications and replace it with plain English.

The BBC reported that a department of health spokesperson said, "It is important that the Department of Health and the NHS get health messages across to the public in language they understand," and Simon George, MD of Thames Translations argues that it is not just the provision of plain English that should be on the agenda here, but foreign languages too.

"Over complicated phrases and terms makes the translation process even more complex and practically impossible for those patients who attempt to translate themselves via automated online translators. Even simplifying the terminology used won't solve the problem completely as language translation must take into account cultural terms and phrases, as well as local dialect variations. The NHS should ensure they have suitable ways to provide patients with access to information in a way they can understand and this means in their preferred language," says George.

George believes that telephone interpreting is by far the best way to ensure that important health messages are provided to the patient in real time, enabling the patient to respond and ask any questions directly to the practitioner. With instant access to hundreds of native interpreters at the end of a phone line, George believes that many non-English speaking patients would leave consultations and appointments in a better state of mind, confident that they had understood the information correctly. But even this isn't enough, says George, who says that written communications are also needed to back up any spoken advice.

"Telephone interpreting helps reduce the risk of misinterpretation at the consultation stage, but they still need to provide information in other formats which can be taken home and shown to other members of the patients' family or friends, who may be equally as responsible for the patients' care and wellbeing," adds George.

Source
Thames Translations