Hospitals launch language app that could save children’s lives

HEALTH CHIEFS TARGET NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS

- By LAUREN MONAGHAN Local democracy reporter

NOTTINGHAM'S hospitals will trial a new app to navigate language barriers of parents with unwell children this summer.

The innovative project, discussed in a Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) board meeting on Thursday, is designed to reduce failure to rescue (FTR) rates in its children’s hospital.

FTR refers to failure to prevent patient deterioration which can lead to death and planned admission to critical care.

Over the past decade, NUH has worked to reduce this rate, with educational programmes for staff and establishing a dedicated Paediatric Critical Care Outreach Service.

Health chiefs say these interventions saw NUH’s FTR rates drop from 24 per cent to under five per cent on emergency events in the children’s hospital, a rate that has been maintained for eight years.

But a consistent theme during healthcare reviews is families’ concerns not being heard, and NUH is now paying particular attention to non-English speaking communities who may be at further disadvantage.