FOREIGN DOCTORS who have been hired to work in South Yorkshire, England, have been given a dictionary of local slang to help with their care of local patients.
Dr Lis Rodgers, head of foreign recruitment for the Doncaster Primary Care Trust, found that although the foreign doctors spoke near perfect English, they were unable to diagnose illnesses because patients would often use colloquialisms to describe symptoms.
The dictionary covers expressions such as “popped his clogs” meaning dead and “don’t talk about the war” translating as don’t go there.
British doctors who are not familiar with the local dialect are also using the dictionary to help in the understanding of patients leading to improved patient care in general.
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