CREATIVE PIECE: Lost in translation

Our enquiry piece is titled Lost in Translation and this was inspired by observing the difficulties faced by non-English speaking patients in both the GP surgery waiting rooms and in the consultations. We were placed in a London GP for a year where the majority of patients were from Turkish, Polish and Somali backgrounds. In most of the consultations we'd seen, there would be some aspect of translation needed - whether that be from family members or requesting translation services.    

We decided to do two poems - one from a staff perspective and one from a patients. We also interviewed some patients and this gave us the insight to create these poems. Although the UK has free healthcare, the language barriers that exist mean that important information and understanding may be lost in the translation process.   

I believe our creative piece ties in with the themes of the conference because firstly, primary care generally across the UK experiences such issues and secondly, a language barrier and lack of understanding would prevent "living and dying well" and as such, is very important to highlight.