What Did You Say?

It is widely acknowledged that effective communication is essential in all clinical consultations.

In all English-speaking nations, English must be spoken fluently.

Nurses and doctors should not be hired unless they are highly proficient in the language; otherwise, how can they demonstrate safe practice in their line of work?

In order to deliver high-quality treatment and practise in the UK, they must be proficient in the English language.

Clinicians who consult in languages other than English are not welcome. Patients, particularly the elderly, find it impolite in addition to perplexing.

Patients must be informed in an understandable manner, and it is absolutely inappropriate and disrespectful for health professionals to speak to one another in the presence of a patient in a language other than English, especially when the patient involved doesn’t understand that language.

One of the tenets of the medical profession is that physicians must always behave in the best interests of their patients.

To facilitate communication with patients, a physician or nurse should speak the same mother tongue.

The problem is, we are not an English-speaking country anymore, and most of the people that live here have little or no English comprehension, and that makes life very difficult indeed.

Some people would say that they don’t care that they can’t speak the language and that if they don’t like it, they should go home. Well, that might be the case, but while they are here, they should be entitled to some healthcare, but they should also be able to support themselves so that they can pay for it – we are not a charity!

Nigel Farage said that the NHS should not hire doctors who don’t speak very good English, and I agree with him, but then, on the other hand, he was probably ranting empty words which he knew would get him a ton of support from his target audience. After all, it doesn’t matter whether it actually makes any sense, so long as loads of his voters believe it does.

I’m not suggesting that doctors who don’t speak very good English are not highly qualified, I’m sure that they are, but all doctors in England should have the ability to communicate in English so that we can understand them because by not understanding them it doesn’t give the patient very much confidence in their doctor, and also having to ask over and over again, ‘What did you say?’