Doctor calls for English on NHS 24.10.07
A top doctor is calling for language lessons for patients struggling with English. Dr Mayur Lakhani, a Sileby GP and chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said the move could save the NHS thousands of pounds a year and improve health.
He believes the move, which is already being tested in parts of London, would improve lifestyles for those who cannot speak much English. Dr Lakhani, who is also medical director for the East Midlands Strategic Health Authority, said GPs were able to send overweight patients to gyms.
The next step could be to prescribe literacy lessons on the NHS. He admitted he was not sure how the classes would work in practice but is determined to explore the possibility.
The cost of interpreters and translation runs at almost £500,000 a year in Leicester. Leicester City Primary Care Trust (PCT) spent more than £336,000 on the services in 2006/07. This year, nearly £343,000 has been set aside.
The PCT runs Ujala Resource Centre, which provides interpreters in 45 spoken languages as well as British sign language. Languages covered include Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi, Russian, Mandarin and Somali.
The centre also provides access to a telephone interpreter service for languages it does not cover. Dr Lakhani is hoping to talk through the idea with community groups.
He said: "I would like to see Leicester to become the first pilot site outside London for this.
"Being able to speak English is an important determinate in enabling people to get jobs, which in turns help improve their overall health.
"Being able to speak the language would also help people to understand treatments and where to get help, which would also help improve health outcomes."
Richard Chester, newly-appointed director of equality and human rights with Leicester City Primary Care Trust, said interpretation and translation across the county was a top priority.
He said: "We take the issue of language seriously. We know there are more than 70 languages or dialects used across the county, including signed communication.
"As Leicester becomes more diverse, this number increases, as does the demand for interpreters and translation."
Source: Leicester Mercury
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