Mary Henry (Independent)

Linguistic competence is an increasing problem in our health service. For example, the linguistic ability of many nurses is not quite what it should be. I was asked by a nursing home, which had a problem recruiting staff from the Philippines, if I could try to point out to the recruits that they would be dealing with people with Alzheimer's. However, Poles who spoke no English had grave trouble communicating with patients who had serious trouble understanding anything. While the society will make decisions in this regard, will it be given guidance? Filling drug prescriptions and explaining how they should be taken is a serious business. This is again a public safety issue.