Doctors ‘staggered’ by results of survey into impact of language on hospital survival rates

Speaking the same language as patients can help doctors provide better care, the study found

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Doctors who can communicate with their patients in the same language can provide better quality and safety of care, a study has said.

Researchers found that older and more vulnerable patients who were admitted to hospital had shorter hospital stays, fewer injuries and infections, and were less likely to die in hospital when they received care from a doctor who spoke their primary language.

Of the nearly 190,000 adult home patients who were involved in the study, the majority (84 per cent) spoke English, while 13 per cent spoke French and 2.7 per cent spoke a different language.

The study found that French speakers who were treated by a French-speaking doctor had a 24 per cent lower chance of dying in hospital, compared to those who were treated by a non-French-speaking doctor.

The odds were more than doubled among non-French or English speakers, rising to a 54 per cent lower chance of death if they were treated in their native language.

The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, followed participants who were admitted to hospital between April 2010 and March 2018.

Co-author Dr Peter Tanuseputro, a doctor and scientist in the Department of Medicine of the Ottawa Hospital, Institut du Savoir Montfort and Bruyere Research Institute, described the findings as “staggering”.

He added that the results made “a strong case for providing care in the same language for linguistic minorities in hospitals”.

“It’s clearly easier to convey important information about your health in your primary language,” Dr Tanuseputro said.

“Regardless, the more than doubling in odds of serious harms, including death, for patients receiving care in a different language is eye-opening.”

Emily Seale, lead author of the study, added: “We need to do more to make sure that patients are heard and understood, whether that’s by referring to physicians who speak the same language or by using interpreter services

“This is not only good patient-centred care, but our research shows that there are grave health consequences when it doesn’t happen.”

The study comes after a similar survey conducted in the UK found that healthcare workers are losing as much as half a working day every week trying to overcome language barriers.

The survey of 1,000 healthcare workers from across the UK found that a fifth have faced language barriers when communicating with colleagues and patients sometimes on an every day basis.

In a typical week, nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals spend four and a half hours a week managing communications breakdowns.