Accessible information standard project

Healthwatch Liverpool delved into the experiences of people from minority ethnic communities who live in Liverpool and find it challenging to communicate with the NHS because they don’t speak English well or at all. This report also looked into the issues faced by healthcare staff when caring for such people.

• Their evidence, along with evidence gathered as part of the national project via other local Healthwatch, concluded that people who experience language barriers struggle at all points of their healthcare journey.
• Such people find it difficult to register with a GP, access urgent care, navigate large healthcare premises, explain their problems, or understand what the doctor says.
• Interpreters were difficult to access for patients and service users, and some did not even know that they were entitled to them during healthcare appointments.
• Interpreters sometimes did not show up, or individuals were provided with inappropriate support; interpreters who spoke an incorrect language or dialect, or interpreters who were not of the appropriate gender for a patient to feel comfortable when speaking about sensitive issues.
• Sometimes patients preferred using friends and relative to support them whilst others thought it was inappropriate. When not provided with support, appointments had to be cancelled, rescheduled.
• Staff also felt constrained when trying to support patients with a language barrier. They said that there was not an efficient or appropriate way to record and communicate to other services patient’s language support needs.
• Staff also mentioned other constraints such as staffing, time, resources, and budgets to justify why they thought patients were not being adequately supported with their communication.

Based on their findings Healthwatch Liverpool made recommendations about how providers can improve communication support for people with language barriers.