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Nursing issues
Mixed methods study
Language barriers may put patients at risk during daily hospital care
  1. Ian K Walsh
  1. Clinical Skills Education Centre, Queen's University, Medical Biology Centre, Belfast, UK
  1. Correspondence to : Dr Ian K Walsh, Clinical Skills Education Centre, Queens University Medical Biology Centre, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK; i.walsh{at}qub.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2015-102157

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    Commentary on: van Rosse F, de Bruijne M, Suurmond J, et al. Language barriers and patient safety risks in hospital care. A mixed methods study. Int J Nurs Stud 2015. Published Online First.

    Implications for practice and research

    • Patient safety can be improved by attention to language barriers.

    • Awareness of and attention to language barriers is not part of routine practice in the Netherlands.

    • Checks for language barriers should form a routine part of safety checks.

    • Research in this area is limited. Previous recommendations derived from research in the area may not be pragmatic.

    Context

    Inadequate language proficiency poses patient safety risks, with the potential for patient harm or inadequate care. Such shortfalls …

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    Footnotes

    • Competing interests None declared.