Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust goes live with CardMedic

Healthcare translation app CardMedic has been downloaded by nearly 400 members of staff at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust since its roll out in January 2024.

The app is designed to help deliver accessible and equitable care to non-English speaking patients by providing healthcare translation and interpreting support.

CardMedic, which features ready-made clinical interactions in more than 50 languages, has been launched to the whole trust following a year-long pilot in the maternity department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) between November 2022 and November 2023.

Amanda Fitzsimons, chief nursing officer at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, said: “We use interpreting services such as telephone and in-person translators on ward rounds and for scheduled appointments.

“The gap in care comes when there are quick conversations you have with a patient, such as when you are doing observations or taking blood and you want to explain what you want the patient to do, and why. CardMedic helps us bridge that gap.”

The maternity team at QEH wanted to carry on using the system following the pilot, which was funded through the London Maternity Clinical Network, and the trust now hopes to promote use of the app across the whole organisation.

“Once maternity staff started using CardMedic and saw what it could do, there was a ripple effect and they started recommending it to their colleagues.

“Our nursing and midwifery directors saw its potential and are now driving its adoption across the trust,” said Fitzsimons.

Dr Rachael Grimaldi, cofounder and chief executive at CardMedic, said: “Maternity teams recognise the importance of consistently good communication around the clock, so it is encouraging to hear how positive feedback from midwives has led to the wider adoption of CardMedic at the trust.

“Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust joins several other healthcare providers across London using CardMedic to provide instant communication support to a diverse and dynamic population”.

More than 20 NHS organisations use CardMedic, including North East London Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), Mid and South Essex ICS, University Hospitals Sussex, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

CardMedic was the winner of the Digital Health Rewired Pitchfest in 2022, which offered the startup the opportunity to have its innovation tested and scaled at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.