Doctors "buried" in NHS jargon, conference told
Thursday 4th June 2009
Hospital doctors and other physicians are being "buried" in confusing business-speak and jargon that may even prove detrimental to patients' care, a conference has heard.
Delegates at the British Medical Association's consultants' conference heard the use of terms such as "performer" to describe doctors, "service user" instead of patients and "proof of concept" projects instead of pilot schemes can prove an "unhelpful distraction", the Telegraph reports.
Dr JR Bamrah of the BMA's psychiatry committee said in most cases the jargon is "not that crucial" but had nevertheless "become endemic" within the NHS.
Anaesthetist Dr Peter Bamber added that while phrases such as "service user" are intended to "de-stigmatise" some conditions, he does not see anything wrong with using patient.
Such phrases may also suggest that patients should "just snap out" of certain conditions, which is "damaging in itself".
A Department of Health spokesman said it has identified jargon-busting tips for NHS communication teams to ensure their messages are easy to understand.
In 1993, the Plain English Campaign awarded its Golden Bull award to the Welsh office of the NHS Directorate's value for money unit after it published a 170-word description of a bed.
Written by Megan Smith
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