Member Article

Guide To Help Doctors Tell Their 'Neb' From Their 'Hunkers'

Doctors who are new to the North East are to be provided with a dialect guide to help them settle in to the area and have a better understanding of their patients.

Easington PCT is holding a consultation today to ask members of the public their suggestions for local health-related words and phrases – like ‘heed’ (head), ‘gob’ (mouth), ‘neif’ (fist) and ‘kite’ (stomach) – which they may use when visiting the doctor. The words collected will then be used to compile the dialect guide. The booklet is being put together as part of the Big Project, a five-year recruitment programme to address a future shortfall in the number of doctors and dentists in the district.

Linda van Zwanenberg, Project Director of the Big Project, said: “Through the Big Project we are hoping to recruit doctors from around the country as well as from overseas. We hope the finished dialect guide will help these new doctors settle in to the area and help them to provide the best possible service for our patients.”

The consultation event today will also include an update on the Big Project and the chance for attendees to give their views on the initiative’s progress so far. There will also be a short presentation on standards for better health.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .