Knowing the language is not enough

Knowing the language is not enough

Country:
Scotland

Source:
A PRONOUNCED IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH
By Samantha Booth
Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd
Mar 7 2006
LINK

Story:
Lubna’s father was diagnosed as suffering from stress on the assumption that being Asian he would work very hard. In effect he needed a bypass, but it was too late, he died soon after the right diagnosis was made. Lubna’s father had no language problems and was well educated.

Facts:
- Lubna’s father was 45
- The Ethnic Minority Diabetic Service was started by Lubna to help solve these problems with minority or ethnic groups.

Language Issues:
- It seems that knowing the language of your client is not enough in a professional setting.
- In this story cultural differences played an equally important part in the fate of the patient.

Comments:
- Is there a safety net that could be introduced to prevent these sort of breakdowns in the system?
- How can we know that we are making an assumption?

Bottom-Line:
Assumptions can be dangerous.