Conclusion

In light of our results, it is clear that there are areas of care that could be improved with regards to
language needs both in terms of notation and delivery. Staff are placed under a lot of pressure, with
a high flow of patients and limited time and resources. This has meant that some parts of the
clerking/clinical notes booklet has been filled out to varying degrees for different patients within the
same ward, with the specific language section we decided to focus on being blank for most patients.
This could have implications for care, especially if the patient were to be subsequently looked after
by a different staff member or transferred to a different ward or hospital. Although most patients
had a good standard of English, there were some patients that found it difficult to understand basic
terms such as ‘pain’. Poor pain control could have had a profound effect on patients’ recovery
especially because we were on an orthopaedic ward where many patients were recovering from
neck of femur fractures.

We tried to explore the options available to staff where a language barrier was present and found
very limited resources available. Relatives would often have to step in to act as interpreters as it was
incredibly difficult to arrange for an interpreter. It would also be very costly and impractical to have
interpreters around on the ward all the time, as patients require care throughout the day and night.
There was not easily accessible resource available to medical staff, restricting the level of care that
could be provided in some cases.

Future Vision/Suggested Improvements

Improvements for short interactions, such as in clinics, could be to provide telephone interpreters
through the use of a subscription that many GP clinics have in place.

Having consulted staff on the wards, our solution was to provide a laminated sheet or booklet that
would stay by the bedside, containing pictures and words with common phrases that may be useful.
This would enable patients to better communicate their wishes if English is not their first language.