England and Wales have an increasingly large number of people for whom English is not their first language. This impacts healthcare delivery, as the communication barrier has an impact on taking medical history and, consequently, the care that is delivered. NHS policy states that professional interpretation and translation services should be used, but this is not always practical. In practice, many healthcare professionals use translation apps on their phones. This approach has both strengths and weaknesses, and although they can help communication, they also have the potential to allow harm to occur.
Jacqueline Chang (2026) studied this question.