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Click on each heading to access the relevant content. 1. Presenting complaint: use of language that disempowers patients In this BMJ article, Caitríona Cox and Zoë Fritz argue that outdated medical language that casts doubt, belittles, or blames patients jeopardises the therapeutic relationship and is overdue for change. 2. NIHR - Health information: are you getting your message across? This resource collection from the National Institute for Health and Care Research includes research on the impact of unclear health messages, how we can help people understand health information and which groups of the population may need extra support. 3. The Obs Pod, by obstetrician Florence Wilcock (Episodes 22 and 23: Language) In episodes 22 and 23 of the Obs Pod podcast, obstetrician Florence Wilcock discusses how the language used in her field can have a detrimental impact on the women and families being cared for. 4. NHS England - Language Matters: language and diabetes This guidance by NHS England sets out practical examples of language that will encourage positive interactions with people living with diabetes and subsequently positive outcomes. 5. Why language matters in social care “Words can invite people in, or keep them out”. Listen to this five minute podcast about why language matters and the impact this has on people who access services, hosted by Linda Doherty from Think Local, Act Personal. 6. "We couldn’t talk to her”: a qualitative exploration of the experiences of UK midwives when navigating women’s care without language Women with little-to-no English continue to have poor birth outcomes and low service user satisfaction. When language support services are used it enhances the relationship between the midwife and the woman, improves outcomes and ensures safer practice. This study aims to understand the experiences of midwives using language support services. 7. Lost for words: Healthwatch evidence on how language barriers contribute to health inequalities Based on research conducted by Healthwatch, this report examines the difficulties that patients with little or no English encounter at every stage of their healthcare journey. Have your say Have you ever been affected by the language used in healthcare? Perhaps you've felt excluded or offended by the words used. Or maybe you have an example of how clear and inclusive language made you feel safer as a patient? You might be a member of staff who has made changes to the way they communicate face-to-face or in writing to help improve outcomes and strengthen patient-provider relationships. Please let us know your thoughts by commenting below (register for free here first). Or you can get in touch with us directly to share your insights at content@PSLhub.org

To address health disparities, we need to focus on improving health literacy, digital literacy and digital access. In this 30-minute live webinar and Q&A from Health Education England, you will find out about our newly available maps and online tool using, place-based geodata to identify levels of health literacy and digital access in your area. The session will also introduce easy read resources for shared decision making, co-produced with experts by experience, and how to use these are part of a series of steps to address local health disparities. Register for the webinar

1 Blog - Inappropriate prescribing during a pandemic: dementia and antipsychotics A growing number of people with dementia who live in care homes are being prescribed antipsychotic medication, but there are serious questions about whether these drugs are being prescribed appropriately. In this blog, a family describes how their father with Alzheimer’s disease came to be prescribed antipsychotic medication at his care home. They raise concerns about the decision to prescribe antipsychotics when there were obvious non-drug based alternatives to pursue, the lack of involvement the family had in the decision-making process and the negative ways in which the medication has affected their father’s personality. 2 Belfast Healthy Cities: Pharmacy Schools Programme (2021) The Pharmacy Schools Programme is an innovative teaching resource developed by Belfast Healthy Cities. Using a health literacy approach, it is designed to be used in primary schools in Northern Ireland to help educate children about self-care, medication safety and community pharmacy services. 3 WHO - Medication safety webinar series: engaging patients and families for medication safety (8 March 2022) As part of its Third Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm, WHO launched a series of webinars to introduce the strategic framework, technical strategies, tools for reducing medication-related harm. You can access the presentations from this webinar focused on engaging patients and their families to improve medication safety: Patient engagement tool: “5 Moments for Medication Safety”, Nagwa Metwally and Helen Haskell Patients, families and health workers partnering for medication safety, Dr Irina Papieva Developing programmes for patient and family engagement - Canadian experience, Ioana Popescu and Maryann Murray 4 Patient Safety Spotlight interview with Marie Lyon, chair of the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests In this interview, Marie Lyon talks about her campaign for justice for families affected by hormone pregnancy tests, why she is passionate about reforming medicines regulation and the important role patient campaigners play in improving patient safety. 5 Blog - Please don’t undermine my pain relief! A call for learning and respect for patients with long term needs This blog calls for action on the careful review of established pain medication when a patient is admitted to hospital. The author, Richard von Abendorff, describes the experience of two elderly patients who suffered pain due to their long term medication being stopped when they were admitted to hospital. He highlights the importance of ensuring that pain management needs are not ignored or undermined and argues that there needs to be carer and patient involvement and their consent when making a decision to stop established pain medication. 6 HSE Ireland - My Medicines List leaflet (January 2020) This leaflet produced by the Irish Health Services Executive (HSE) provides a central place for patients to record information about their medications. It acts as a reference point for patients to use when discussing their medications with a healthcare professional and includes a reminder of the Know, Check, Ask campaign, aimed at reducing medication errors in the community. 7 Blog - Digitising pharmacy: Bilingual medication information on pharmacy dispensing labels (July 2022) This blog by NHS England looks at how a service which provides bilingual medication information is helping to reduce healthcare inequalities and medication errors in London. Written Medicine’s software allows pharmacies and hospitals to translate and print medication information, instructions and warnings. Drawn from a dataset of 3,500 phrases, printed labels are available in fifteen different languages. The bilingual labels help patients take ownership of their treatment, giving them a better understanding of how to take their prescribed medication. The solution is helping to reduce errors, improve medication adherence and enhance patient safety and experience. Take a look at our Top picks for World Patient Safety Day 2022: Medication safety in hospitals

This conference from the Westminster forum will examine the next steps for the use of patient records and data within the NHS and clinical research. The agenda also looks at the opportunities for improved patient engagement in their care, including through the NHS app which enables easily to access their own records. Speakers and other delegates will share experience, latest thinking on best practice, and views on the way forward for addressing key issues. Areas for discussion include: patient data use in healthcare delivery - the current landscape, and priorities for the future electronic health records - including their role in supporting integrated care systems clinical research - the next steps for utilising patient data, and developing best practice digital health - patient data collection, use and quality, and innovation priorities population health - achieving the potential of data collection to improve outcomes security - including transparency on patient data use public trust - digital health literacy and patient control of their own care plans the NHS app - its role in the future of patient-centred healthcare. Register