A single digital platform will let NHS staff book live interpreters, access pre-written medical phrases in over 50 languages, and automatically log every interaction into a patient’s electronic health record. This matters because language and communication barriers in healthcare lead to worse outcomes, longer delays, and higher costs. Currently, NHS staff often juggle multiple separate language-service providers, wasting time and risking inconsistent care. Patients who do not speak English, need easy-read formats, or rely on sign language can miss critical information about their treatment. If the project succeeds, the NHS will have one system-agnostic portal that matches interpreters using AI, provides instant access to routine medical conversations, and records all communication in patient records. This should reduce delays, improve patient safety, lower spending on interpreter services, and free up clinical staff time. The platform also aims to reduce health inequalities by ensuring that every patient—regardless of language or communication need—receives the same quality of care and information. The impact is on a quiet but essential part of hospital infrastructure: the system that connects a non-English-speaking patient with a clinician, currently fragmented and inefficient, would become streamlined and reliable.
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CardMedic reduces health inequalities by improving language and communication barriers between healthcare staff and patients. This project is further developing CardMedic's SaaS offering through creating a fully-managed Language Service Provider (LSP) portal, bolstering its existing on-demand clinically interpreted content in 50+ languages, easy read, read-aloud and sign language. The new LSP Portal will expand these capabilities for a more comprehensive service, making it easier for NHS staff and patients to access live interpreters through a single point of access for all communication support. This LSP portal will feature AI-powered interpreter matching, allowing healthcare providers to quickly find and connect with the best available interpreters in real-time. It will also continue to offer instant access to pre-written medical conversations for routine interactions, enabling faster communication in non-critical situations, saving time for staff and patients, protecting precious interpreter resource, rationalising spending, and improving overall efficiency in busy healthcare settings. Additionally, the platform will integrate with Electronic Health Records (EHR), so that all communication is accurately recorded and easily accessible, ensuring patient care is always clear and consistent. By streamlining the entire language service process, the project aims to reduce delays, improve patient safety, lower healthcare costs, improve user experience for clinicians and disburden NHS staff by streamlining different LSPs onto one system-agnostic, easy to use platform. Ultimately, this project will significantly improve the way the NHS can access, use and performance-manage language services, breaking down communication barriers and ensuring all patients receive the care and information they need, regardless of language or communication challenges.
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