Leaflets ensure vital medical information is not lost in translation at Cork hospital

A Cork hospital is translating complex health information into six different languages in a bid to bolster patient care at the medical facility.

The project, which organisers say should be replicated nationwide, reflects the growing number of foreign national patients presenting at Cork University Hospital’s (CUH) breast radiology department.

Upon completion of the project, which is funded by the CUH Charity, crucial patient care information will be available in Arabic, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian.

Translated pamphlets available at the facility will explain to patients in their native language what a mammogram, ultrasound or biopsy involves, risk factors to be aware of, breast symptoms and lifestyle advice.

“It will have a widespread impact,” said advanced nurse practitioner Susan Walsh of the Rapid Access Breast Service at CUH.

“The information is there, not only for these patients, but for other patients into the future.

“We have so many nationalities residing in Ireland, it should be in all hospitals and part of the standard of care to provide information in as easy-to-understand language as possible,” she added.

“A lot of information is given to patients at these clinics and the main purpose is that what we provide to them is easily understood, regardless of nationality.”

There are 5,500 new patients seen every year at the hospital’s symptomatic breast clinic, with most further referred to the radiology department for diagnostic scans, where patient care information has already been produced in four different languages by the Breast Family History Service at CUH.

The translation project at CUH was created in collaboration with the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), which helps remove barriers to people with literacy difficulties.

The next step in this project is transferring the common information onto an online platform.