Hospital ‘cannot check that doctors understand English’

There have been 'language problems' among hospital
locums in the past

JERSEY is powerless to check that temporary doctors working at the Hospital
can speak and understand English, according to the Health Minister.
Deputy Anne Pryke said that her department’s ‘hands were tied’ when it came
to ensuring that locums employed by the States had a good working knowledge of
English.
The JEP has seen a leaked email which appears to show that there is at least
one doctor currently employed at the Hospital who has difficultly understanding
English.
It comes only weeks after Verita, a specialist consultancy that investigated
the death of staff nurse Elizabeth Rourke, concluded that employing locums at
the General Hospital had compromised patient safety.
Deputy Pryke refused to discuss specific cases but admitted that there had
been issues of ‘language problems’ among locums working in Jersey in the past
and that some contracts had been terminated as a result. (from JEP)
Hang on am I missing something here the Hospital Management cannot check to see if the staff they employ understand English?, What sort of management runs this Hospital?

This is of course not the truth from Minister Anne Pryke now appearing on the Channel news as I type, management at the hospital can employ who ever they so wish, you would think that they would bother that locums, speak and lets not forget, write good engish, so critical clinical treatment records for others to follow are clear.

It is true that qualified doctors and consultants are licensed by the BMA however the rules of their employment regarding pension schemes, hours worked and even rising grades determines how much there remuneration package when employed by the NHS trusts, are decided by the NHS.

Not so Jersey and probably Guernsey. Jerseys Hospital sets its own frame work ( some based on the NHS ) and wage scales for employing clinicians being completely separate from the NHS.

All NHS hospitals are regular screened for success rates in departments, time taken for operations etc for accountability purposes. Then the results are put on the internet in a effort to be transparent. Jersey and probably Guernsey dropped out of this intrusive fact finding examination of standards, which again shows they are independant.

Southampton Hospital - accounts.

http://www.suht.nhs.uk/AboutTheTrust/FinanceAndAccounts/FinanceAndAccounts.aspx

Southampton Hospital - developments that will affect the care of the population.

http://www.nhs.uk/aboutNHSChoices/professionals/developments/Documents/2010/Improvements%20to%20primary%20care%20information%20on%20NHS%20Choices%20Final2.pdf

NHS statistics.

http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections

Boatyboy.

I know that when Gsy started to employ nurses from the Phillipines there was justified concern over the language barriers. The nurses were very good at their job as caring nurses but English was their second lanuage and in some cases they were hard to understand and sometimes difficult to interpret their writing. However needs must if we could employ locals we would.

I am sure the Philippines nurses or any other person from any country who becomes a nurse has the potential to become excellent at their profession. If local people cannot fill the vacancies you say ! , its called careers in medicine a long term states objective to give work to Guernsey school leavers, training sponsored by the States. A very good cause I feel, looking to the future.

So going back to the main point, if they are qualified as a nurse in say Germany, is it not possible that their second language in English could be very weak, if this is the case, how can they follow the treatment plan ? If this cannot be guaranteed then how can the safety of the patient be guaranteed?

My concern is that managers of the Hospital are not employing " safe " staff.

Should a manager pick up a syringe he / she can be prosecuted as they are not qualified. What happens if they employ a clinician who cannot communicate properly ? Is the manager guilty of dereliction of duty, if not why not. ?

Find out how well Guernsey and Jersey's hospitals do on the internet, regarding success rates, waiting times, upgrade training for staff, detailed accounts on how tax payers money is spent etc etc ?
　
Boatyboy.

When I was in the PEH all the nurses were really lovely, kind and helpful - but the Guernsey nurses were aggrieved because they didn't get the 'perks' the imported staff got and had to pay rent (as opposed to living in the nurses block) or indeed mortgages on less wages - they said it kind of took the edge off of doing a job they loved because they could barely afford to live on the 'regular' (no perks) wage!!!

Karma, I suppose the point is though, could you communicate easily with the foreign workers to such an extent as reading their clinical notes and understanding what they meant.

No is the 'sad and scary' answer to that one plimmerton