Australia is a diverse country, home to 7.6 million migrants. People from all over the world come in search of a better life for themselves and their families. According to Human Rights Australia, nearly 20 percent of Australians are multilingual and speak at least one language other than English at home.
It’s been observed that, upon entering the country, the majority of migrants congregate in places where individuals from their home countries reside in order to foster a sense of connection with their roots. Although almost all immigrants communicate in English, they are most comfortable expressing their views in their own native language, especially in times of distress or when dealing with a medical condition.
As Australia becomes more culturally diverse and the population of older people increases, it can be extremely advantageous to be multilingual in the medical industry for a number of reasons. For healthcare professionals, it is very common to encounter patients whose native language is not English. And, therefore, irrespective of whether you are a support worker, doctor, or part of the healthcare industry, it is beneficial for care professionals to be able to communicate in more than one language. This can alleviate and even eliminate misunderstandings when understanding the recipient’s needs and offer an effective diagnosis. We know that determining appropriate treatment is primarily dependent on understanding what the patient is saying, so speaking a second language can be helpful for the care professional in offering the best care and support.
While the patients receive the best care and support by being able to communicate with the medical practitioner, the benefit of speaking a second language does not end here. This ability of medical practitioners also opens the door to many new opportunities and fosters trust between patients and the organisation for which they work.The importance of being understood by the patients cannot be overstated, and thus, having a pool of care professionals who speak a second language is really beneficial for an organisation.
Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the healthcare industry in Australia has faced new challenges and is struggling to meet the demands of society. COVID has not been easy on anyone, but we know that older people were and are at greater risk of being infected with the virus and thus need more attention and care to fight against it. This situation has shown where the healthcare system is lacking, and multilingualism for care professionals can help care providers and the healthcare industry as a whole handle less work.
Homage is proud to be associated with healthcare professionals from various cultures and religions who share the same goal, i.e.,
“To offer holistic care and support to everyone in the community”
We value diversity and are lucky enough to have a pool of care professionals working together to offer in-home care and support services. One of our care professionals, CP Shraddha, shares her story about how being bilingual helps her do her job efficiently. She is an active support worker who enjoys both caring for others and the flexibility of choosing days and times to work that she gets with Homage. CP Shraddha’s considerable experience in the healthcare industry has allowed her to assist numerous non-English-speaking clients. She herself is multilingual and can speak Hindi, English, and Punjabi.
CP Shraddha says “being able to speak and understand more than one language has always helped me in understanding the recipient’s needs better, which further helps me in providing personalised care and support in the best possible way. Being multilingual has helped me pick up more shifts with Homage as I’m a match for care recipients who speak the same languages as me”
Being able to speak and understand a second language has so many benefits. It not only helps those in need of assistance, but it also helps care professionals find more work and businesses provide much-needed care from the best-suited care professionals.
CP Shraddha is not the only Homage-affiliated care professional who has benefited from being bilingual or multilingual. Another care professional, CP Sushma, shares her insight on the same. CP Sushma has been using Homage to offer care and support to her community and enjoys the whole process. CP Sushma says being multilingual in the care industry has helped her grow professionally and “Speaking different languages definitely helped me have the best experience. I feel the care recipients feel really comfortable speaking in their language and are at ease when the carer understands their native language. It has also helped me pick up more shifts.”
These two real-life examples demonstrate how beneficial it is being multilingual as an individual in the care industry. The benefits extend beyond the individual level to also benefit the organisations offering care and support services to the community.
Homage has a diverse pool of care professionals (92% of Homage care professionals) who speak at least one language other than English to support our clients with care services. Reach out to learn how we can support your NDIS / HCP clients: https://www.homage.com.au/p/b2b2c-referral/
