Can't understand doctor

dayloon

dayloon

dayloon

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About a month ago my dad was diagnosed with cancer and since then he's been going through various tests / scans to see if the cancer has spread before they decide on which path to take for the treatment. Today he gets the results and I've been going with him to the appointments but the problem is that the consultant he's seeing has an extremely strong Indian accent and fairly poor English language skills. He's very difficult to understand. You basically catch 1 or 2 words out of each sentence and then have to guess what he's saying. Do you think it's rude to just say to him "Please don't take offense but we don't understand a word you're saying". I wouldn't mind if it was something minor but when he's going to be told whether or not his cancer has spread and what treatment he'll have I'd obviously rather be able to understand what the guy is saying ! Seeing another consultant isn't an option as this is the NHS we're talking about and there are only 2 consultants in this particular department, the other one doesn't deal with cancer patients.
 
Just ask him to repeat himself until he gets the message and starts speaking more clearly (slower) and pronounced. Don't walk away without understanding exactly what all the updates are.
 
Ask if you can have another person sit in with you that maybe able to understand his accent and can e.g. translate for you. E.g. I can understand Indian accents very well since I'm ethnically Indian and have always been exposed to it. Or you could ask one of the nurses to sit in with you.

I'm not saying this to be mean etc, but a lot of patients and their relatives indicate your problem around a time like this. Most of it is due to being so apprehensive during a consultation that they often just stop listening as well as they could, which is very very understandable. Perhaps blaming his poor english pronounciation is to put it bluntly a bit of an excuse.

It's possible that this isn't the case, but best solution is to find somebody who can understand his accent and can sit in with you.

The best of luck fella :).
 
Do not guess at what he's saying.

It's important to always leave the consultation knowing exactly what's happening/happened. You may regret it harshly if you don't.

Ask him to repeat himself until you understand.
 
Odds are due to your location, your dad will be referred to Christie's in Manchester. These guys are VERY good :)

Currently going through the second attempt to get rid of my Fathers Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, so have a fair understanding of what you are going through.
 
greenlizard0 said:
I'm not saying this to be mean etc, but a lot of patients and their relatives indicate your problem around a time like this. Most of it is due to being so apprehensive during a consultation that they often just stop listening as well as they could, which is very very understandable. Perhaps blaming his poor english pronounciation is to put it bluntly a bit of an excuse.
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I'm sorry but I really doubt that is the issue here. I know that if I was about to be told about something as serious as cancer I'd be listening quite intently. Don't get me wrong, the NHS would be in a much worse state without the talents of indian doctors, but sometimes they are impossible to understand.

If you can't understand him there's nothing wrong with having him repeat or to get someone else to talk to you
 
Im upset to hear about your old man, but really do you need to ask this on a forum?

If you don't understand something ever you ask them to repeat them self until its crystal clear to you, If its that bad then ask him to write it on a bit of paper.
Doesn't matter how much of a dick you look when its something serious.

I went through the same recently with my mother and her 2nd recent cancer scare :eek: just be firm.
 
"Say it again... sorry, do it again... do it again... do it again..." Marjorie Dawes stylee :D

Seriously though, dont leave that room until you're 100% sure of what he is telling you even if that means asking him to repeat or explain in a different way. The last thing you want is to leave with questions.
 
Chinook said:
I'm sorry but I really doubt that is the issue here. I know that if I was about to be told about something as serious as cancer I'd be listening quite intently. Don't get me wrong, the NHS would be in a much worse state without the talents of indian doctors, but sometimes they are impossible to understand.

If you can't understand him there's nothing wrong with having him repeat or to get someone else to talk to you
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I totally agree on the last point.

To the OP Try and get a nurse into sit with you and go over anything that you can't quite understand, chances are if an accent problem does exist you won't be the first person to have asked for help or repetition.

Chinook - It's one thing to say you'll be able to listen well if (god forbid) you're ever in that situation, it's a totally different thing being in that situation and actually listening. I never really imagined that this would be the case either, but it's something we're taught right at the beginning of med school as part of our communication skills/breaking bad news skills. Patients unfortunetely (sp) in that position are under so much stress already that just don't take what's being said to them in.
 
dmpoole said:
I was at the Dentists yesterday and she is Polish. I can't understand what she says either so I keep asking her to repeat while slobbering over her. Most of the time the assistant translates.
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My denstist was replaced by a polish dentist 8 months ago and I could not understand a word he was saying, thankfully it was just a checkup and I did not need any treatment.

Went back 2 months ago for another check-up and his accent has rapidly improved. Happy days!
 
Just tell him that you don't understand a word he's saying. I don't know how someone can become a doctor in this country if their English is that bad in the first place, so it might encourage him to improve it.
 
Ulfhedjinn said:
Just tell him that you don't understand a word he's saying. I don't know how someone can become a doctor in this country if their English is that bad in the first place, so it might encourage him to improve it.
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It's because fewer natives want to become doctors because the NHS sucks, so we take on tons of foreigners.

Apparently loads of our aid money that goes to Africa gets spent training doctors... who we then poach to work for the NHS. It's cheaper to train them over there than over here. Suck.
 
Ulfhedjinn said:
I don't know how someone can become a doctor in this country if their English is that bad in the first place, so it might encourage him to improve it.
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To be fair it's more down to accent rather than a language barrier.

My white orthodontist had a very very thick Birmingham accent, which made me ask him to repeat himself a lot of the time.
 
Sounds like my GP, Dr. Kulkani. Can't understand a word she says, and to top the lot she sometimes lapses into Urdo. Well, it sounds like Urdo anyway.
 
iCraig said:
To be fair it's more down to accent rather than a language barrier.
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The OP stated that the doctor has "fairly poor English language skills", which leads me to believe it goes a bit deeper than accent.
 
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