The Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) has called for the authorities to address complaints about the language barrier between foreign doctors employed in the public healthcare system and patients to prevent misdiagnosis.
The issue was raised recently at a meeting of the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation with councillors expressing concern that the language barrier between Cuban doctors and their Jamaican counterparts has been a major problem.
NAJ President Carmen Johnson said doctors employed from Cuba, India and Burma have been having challenges understanding Jamaican patients.
“Not many of them understand English and can interpret at the speed that you expect them to interpret to understand what is happening with the patient. Again because of our vernacular, when I said my stomach hurts, the doctor may interpret it to be my real stomach but I’m referring to my chest and so the doctor is going to examine you for stomach or to treat you for stomach, rather than really and truly saying to you, ‘where exactly is your stomach?'”
She said nurses have also been complaining about the problem.
The NAJ president has suggested the government to try harder to retain local practitioners in the health sector to prevent communication challenges with patients.
Hmmmm
WOW. This is serious