INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY, AND COVID-19
International migration has increased rapidly over the past 20 years, with an estimated 281 million people living outside their country of birth.1 Similarly, migration to the UK has continued to rise over this period; current annual migration is estimated to be >700 000 per year (net migration of >300 000).2 With migration comes linguistic diversity, and in health care this often translates into linguistic discordance between patients and healthcare professionals. This can result in communication difficulties that lead to lower quality of care and poor outcomes.3 COVID-19 has heightened inequalities in relation to language: communication barriers, defined as barriers in understanding or accessing key information on health care and challenges in reporting on health conditions, are known to have compounded risks for migrants in the context of COVID-19.4 Digitalisation of health care has further amplified inequalities in primary care for migrant groups.5
LANGUAGE CHALLENGES IN PRIMARY CARE
There have been substantial reductions in funding for English language course provision over the past decade, and associated challenges in meeting demand for English language learning.6 This has put increased pressure on public service providers to ensure that all patients receive the same level of access and care to avoid perpetuating inequalities. The UK’s Equality Act 2010 places a legal duty on the NHS to reduce inequalities between patients with respect to their ability to access health services. Guidance for primary care states that ‘patients should be able to access primary care services in a way …
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