Addressing Inequality in Primary Care

In the diverse population of England and Wales, language barriers significantly contribute to inequality in the National Health System (NHS), especially in primary care. According to the 2021 Census, 1.5% of the population (880,000 people) speak English "not well" or "not at all". This gap in communication poses significant challenges for both patients and healthcare providers, particularly for those managing long-term conditions. The advanced functionality of Maiya software offers a transformative approach to tackling these challenges, helping to reduce inequalities and enhance care quality.

The Impact of Language Barriers on Patients

For patients with limited English proficiency, accessing healthcare can be fraught with difficulties. Key challenges include:

• Dependence on family members: Patients often rely on relatives or friends for interpretation. This may lead to privacy concerns and inaccurate translation of medical information.
• Difficulty describing symptoms: Without a direct line of communication, misdiagnoses and delays in treatment become more likely.
• Avoidance of healthcare services: Fear of miscommunication often prevents individuals from seeking care, exacerbating health disparities and reinforcing inequality in the National Health System.

Challenges for Healthcare Providers

Healthcare professionals also face significant hurdles in treating patients who do not speak English well:

• Prolonged consultations: Language difficulties require additional time, straining already stretched NHS resources.
• Higher risk of misdiagnosis: Inadequate communication hampers understanding of patients' symptoms, histories, and needs.
• Dependence on interpreters: Professional interpreters are valuable but not always accessible, causing delays.

Maiya: A Comprehensive Solution for Primary Care

Maiya is a powerful software platform designed to automate and enhance the work of general practices, particularly for patients with long-term conditions. Among its many innovative features is the ability to send multilingual questionnaires to patients, enabling clear communication and better care outcomes.

How Maiya Tackles the Language Barrier

1. Multilingual Questionnaires: One of the many features of Maiya allows clinicians to send questionnaires where patients can choose to answer in their own language. This feature ensures that patients can provide an accurate response about their health conditions and concerns without the stress of a language barrier.
2. Seamless Translation: Responses are automatically translated into English, enabling healthcare providers to fully understand critical patient information.
3. Streamlined Processes: By automating data collection, Maiya saves time, reduces consultation lengths, and enhances diagnostic accuracy.

Broader Functionality of Maiya

While addressing the language barrier is a standout feature, Maiya offers a wide array of tools for automating and improving care for patients with long-term conditions.  Maiya ensures that general practices can operate more efficiently and equitably.

Benefits of Maiya for Primary Care

• Empowering Patients: Multilingual support eliminates the stress of miscommunication, fostering better engagement with healthcare services.
• Supporting Providers: With accurate information available upfront, healthcare professionals can focus on diagnosis and treatment, reducing risks and saving time.
• Advancing the NHS: Maiya solutions for primary care address key systemic challenges, paving the way for more inclusive and efficient care delivery.

Maiya - Tackling Inequalities in the NHS

The language barrier remains a major obstacle to achieving equitable healthcare in the NHS. However, the comprehensive functionality of Maiya provides an effective solution. By enabling communication in a patient’s native language through multilingual questionnaires and automating essential workflows, Maiya ensures that both patients and healthcare providers can bridge the language gap.

Maiya's broader tools for managing long-term conditions and improving general practice workflows further reinforce its role as a critical asset in addressing inequality in the National Health System. As the NHS strives to provide universal access to care, Maiya stands out as a technology that delivers real-world impact, reducing disparities and improving outcomes for all.