Over a million people in the UK can’t speak English well or
at all, according to census
data from 2021. One of the themes of Health Information Week 2026 is
translated patient information, so here is a brief overview of some useful
resources.
The World Health Organization has factsheets on a huge
variety of topics, which are available in a few different languages: https://www.who.int/health-topics/.
Doctors of the World also have an extensive digital collection of resources: https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/translated-health-information/
Some UK professional bodies, such as the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, have their own translations of health information: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/translations.
Several health charity websites have translated information
for the public, such as Macmillan
Cancer Support, Diabetes
UK, The
British Heart Foundation and Asthma
and Lung UK.
MTW and KMMH staff can access patient information, including
some translations, via the clinical decision support tools BMJ Best Practice and
DynaMed (accessed via Open Athens login).
On BMJ Best Practice, search by keyword for your topic, then
navigate to ‘patient information’ on the menu at the top of the page, listed
under ‘resources’.
On DynaMed, search for your topic, then on the left-hand
menu select ‘patient information’.
Patient information in other languages can be found on ClinicalKey via OpenAthens too.
Please note that these patient information resources are produced
by organisations outside the NHS, so check origin of resources for relevance to
your context.
The Patient Information Forum has provided some tips about
translating patient information: https://pifonline.org.uk/resources/translated-health-information-matters/.
The BMA also gives some advice about use
of interpreters.
If you have any questions about accessing BMJ Best Practice, DynaMed or any other information resources, please contact the library team: mtw-tr.library @nhs.net
