According to Johnny Marshall, GP and director of policy at NHS Confederation, the NHS jargon makes the organisation seem less accessible to the public, and as a result, the organisation is often misunderstood and regarded with apprehension.
The NHS needs to make jargon accessible
He raises issues such as ‘out-of-hours-services (out of whose hours?)’, reconfiguration, reform, and bed-blocking, are all examples of what can only be described as NHS gibberish to the average civilian.
He argue that only 40% of people feel equipped to discuss the NHS, meaning 60% of people feel as if they do not know or understand enough about the healthcare organisation to even hold a conversation about it. He concludes in order to tackle this, there ought to be a person-centred language mandate. In simple terms, leave boardroom talk in the boardroom.
He adds that the NHS must do this as part of their transparency scheme. The NHS is the nation’s darling, it would be a great boon if the remaining 60% of the nation understood the NHS.
