GP staff speak a record 15 languages to deal with appointments
GP surgery’s staff speak a record 15 languages to deal with four out of five appointments where patients have no English
- The Thistlemoor Medical Centre in Peterborough has hired multi-lingual staff
- As many as 80 per cent of their patients do not speak English as first language
- In recent years the clinic has taken on more GPs and nursing staff to help
A GP surgery has had to hire staff who speak 15 different languages to be able to treat patients who can’t speak English.
According to the Sun, four in five patients at the Thistlemoor Medical Centre in Peterborough reportedly require the help of a translator – with most patients coming from eastern Europe.
A source told the newspaper: ‘It does cost the surgery a fortune but there’s no way of doing anything differently to ensure everyone gets the medical care they need.
As many as 80 per cent of the patients at the Thistlemoor Medical Centre in Peterborough require a translator
‘It’s chaos but a sign of the times – and the surgery runs a happy ship.’
The practice’s workforce is made up of 12 administrative staff, 26 healthcare assistants, 21 nurses, ten GPs and four registrars.
Around 25,000 patients are said to visit the centre each year with nearly half telling staff that English is not their first language.
In the last two years, even more GPs and healthcare assistants have been drafted in to bridge the language barrier.
Back in 2016, it was adjudged to be ‘outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission.
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