Communication

Introduction

Communication will be at the core of your role in the day-to-day management of patients and when attending incidents.

Poor communication is one of the most frequently received complaints for Healthcare Organisations.

Barriers to Communication

Barriers to communication are anything that influences you ability to effectively pass on and receive back the message you need.

You will frequently encounter difficult-to-manage barriers to communication and will need to think of ways of dealing with them.

Here are some examples of barriers to communication and how they can be overcome

Physical Obstacles

Such as distance or your patient being stuck the other side of a closed door

The clear answer is to remove the obstacles, but in some situations this may not be possible, so you will need to think of novel solutions.

Examples may include: establish contact by phone, use an intermediary to relay messages, signal with your hands or other prompts.

Language

You will inevitably meet people with whom you cannot communicate in their native language.

The use of a family member as a translator can be helpful; alternatively, you may use translation tools provided by Excel EMS.

Emotions

You will frequently encounter patients and situations where those involved are experiencing extreme emotions

At these times people are less able to understand what is being said to them or asked of them. Use of verbal and on-verbal communication will be key here to ensure clarity of message

Age

Young patients in particular will need to be communicated with in a way that is suitable to them and that they can understand.

Using pictures, drawings and other props can be an effective means of overcoming barriers to communication.

In summary

Communication is a natural skill that we all use on a daily basis; however, in your front line role you will be routinely faced with challenging and demanding communication scenarios.

Long after your patients have forgotten what you did for them, they will remember the way in which you went about doing it.

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