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Table 3 Patient-provider communication

From: Language diversity and challenges to communication in Indian emergency departments

Consultant

“So a fluent, well taken history is very important in coming to a conclusion or coming to a diagnosis. So if we are not fluent in the languages of the patient it’s going to affect the diagnosis.”

Post-graduate trainee

“Now here in Kerala many people are coming from Bengal, Assam, those kinds of areas. So they don’t speak Hindi also. They speak Assamese, Bengali. It’s very hard to pick up. In those situations. Those situations are hard, we just - just rule out some emergency situation…”

Post-graduate trainee

“During my initial stages of residency I wasn't able to understand any of the complaints, what the patient is saying. I was dependent on nursing staff. Sometimes even I can’t tell the difference between diarrhea and constipation”

Post-graduate trainee

“Not exactly, because in MIMS we get international patients mostly, the Arabic patients. So there will be communication issues. So we need a translator. So in odd hours we won't be having a translator, that time maybe.”

EMS/Tech

“There are a lot of rural people here. They don’t understand. Their education is not enough. They’re illiterates”

EMS/Tech

“It’s very difficult to communicate with them. Sometimes they are asking some doubts and it's very difficult to communicate with them, because we have a medical term, but it's difficult to translate to our mother tongue.”

EMS/Tech

“In triage there are lot of problems coming, because people are not aware about triage and they are always irritated. They are coming with excessive pain, but they are not allowing us to triage. There is lot of communication problem.”