NHS chiefs look for ways to bridge patient literacy gap

THOUSANDS of patients across the Lothians will be spoken to in text speak and slang in a bid to help them understand crucial health messages.

Under plans being considered by health chiefs in Edinburgh, doctors would revert to using the popular abbreviations and colloquialisms to communicate with patients instead of using formal letters.

The idea came after NHS Lothian's director of public health, Dr Alison McCallum, said around 23 per cent of the area's population were "functionally illiterate".

Bosses are concerned that a failure to comprehend warnings and messages about wellbeing by up to 200,000 people could have a grave impact on health inequalities, adding that "advice on healthy living was not necessarily getting through to the areas where it was most required".

Those who are most likely to be functionally illiterate - a term used to describe people who don't have sufficient reading and writing skills beyond an extremely basic level - are also those most prone to ill health.

And now experts in the organisation are discussing ways in which to speak "in their language", which include texting or e-mailing in slang instead of sending formal letters.

The move could involve consultants who want to summon patients for appointments, and communications workers sending out messages on a range of public health issues, such as smoking or diet, aimed at those with a "low health literacy".Dr Sue Payne, a consultant in public health medicine for the health board, said: "Research has shown that people have trouble understanding information about their health and also have difficulty finding their way around our services.

"This 'low health literacy' is one of a number of challenges we face in tackling health inequalities in Lothian.

"We are continually looking at how we can improve our communication methods to ensure we reach as wide an audience as possible because, without addressing this problem, many who most need healthcare will not being able to access the service they need.

"NHS Lothian works closely with partner organisations to develop and test health information materials and to learn from best practice elsewhere."

Health chiefs will now team up with experts at Edinburgh University to investigate the best way forward, which could also include the use of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.

And it is not just those in poorer areas of the Lothians who are affected by the problem.There is concern about the elderly and ethnic minorities understanding "health speak".

Sources in the organisation confirmed that using text language had been considered as a way of "breaking through the poverty barrier". One said: "It seems a crazy idea at first, but if you are struggling to get through to a group of people and a possible solution is mentioned, it has to at least be tried out."

However, others feel that illiterate individuals are not the only ones to blame, and that hospital doctors and GPs could do better at better explaining themselves, adding that even those with a reasonable level of education would struggle to understand some medical ramblings.

It is understood the figure used by Dr McCallum came from a Scottish Government report estimating levels of functional illiteracy across Scotland to be between one in four and one in five.

Margaret Watt, chairwoman of the Scotland Patients Association, said: "We need patients to be able to understand what doctors are saying to them and writing about them. I think NHS Lothian's heart is in the right place, but the problem is wider.

"People have to have a command of the English language, and perhaps classes to explain what things mean might be more appropriate and less patronising than sending out abbreviated text messages."