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Guidelines for Communicating Clearly

using Plain English with our Patients
and Service Users

A resource to improve the quality

and consistency of our communications
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Guidelines for Communicating Clearly in Plain

English with our Patients and Service Users

Contents

1. About these guidelines 2

2. Your audience and your message 4

3. Writing clearly to our patients and service users 5

4. Speaking clearly to our patients and service users 10

5. List of medical words and how to explain them 11

6. Tips on using images 14

7. Plain English checklists for speaking, documents, forms, 15

numbers and the web

8. Health literacy checklist for documents 23

9. Useful resources 27
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1. About these guidelines

We developed these guidelines to help you communicate clearly with patients and service
users throughout the HSE. They will help you to create, write and check your plain English
written and spoken communications.

Plain English is a way to write and present information so a reader can understand and
act on it after a single reading.

Plain English means:

• writing accurately and clearly for the intended reader
• avoiding jargon, except for people who will understand it
• using clear layout and design so the information is easy on the eye

Health literacy is closely related to plain English.

Health literacy has two elements.

• Health services communicate clearly and take account of possible health literacy and
numeracy needs.
• People understand health information correctly and can make an informed decision.

Good health literacy means that you, as a health information provider, communicate clearly.
It also means that your patients and other service users have the knowledge, understanding,
skills and confidence to take an active role in their health and wellbeing. It will help your
colleagues to understand patient treatment and care instructions, which can lead to better
outcomes.

Why is health literacy important?

The European Health Literacy Survey (2012) for Ireland showed that:
• 39% of respondents have ‘limited’ health literacy
• 39% have sufficient health literacy
• 22% have excellent health literacy

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Research shows that limited health literacy and numeracy could mean people:
• don’t fully understand their condition and treatment
• are more at risk of going to hospital
• are less likely to go for screening
• might make a mistake when taking medicines
• might visit the emergency department more frequently
• could die younger

Our patients and service users ask us to be clear when we give them information about their
health. They also want us to show care and compassion when we talk and write to them. When
we explain things clearly with care and compassion, people trust us more and are more likely
to take our advice.

Using this guide will improve the quality of your communications with patients and service
users. It also helps you to evaluate your documents. At a simple level, this may mean using the
checklists in this document or having another person review your writing.

User testing
Wherever possible, carry out some user testing with your patients and service users. You can
do this using surveys, interviews or testing with representative readers. It is very important to
do this for a document that has a wide audience, like a patient instruction leaflet. User testing
can also be easily done for internal documents – for example, an email you are sending to all
staff. Ask a couple of your colleagues to read it before sending it out to check that they can
understand it and follow any instructions easily.

Communicating clearly focuses not just on the individual’s capabilities but also on your skill as
a developer, writer or editor of health information and advice. You don’t have to be the best
writer or best communicator to communicate clearly, but the tips and guidelines in this
document will help you. You won’t need all of them, but we all need some. So, we ask that you
read the guidelines carefully and keep them close to hand.

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2. Your audience and your message

Before you write or speak to a patient or service user, listen to them, think of their needs and
consider what they are looking for from you.

It can be hard with different demands on your time, but try and keep open to answering
patients’ questions in the detail they need.

Consider the needs and circumstances of those with whom you are communicating:

• gender • sexual orientation (heterosexual, gay,

lesbian, bisexual, transgender)
• marital status, for example married,
single or divorced • religion

• family status, for example widowed or • race (national, cultural and ethnic origin)
single parent
• membership of the Traveller Community
• age

• people with disabilities, for example

hearing impaired, vision impaired or
physically disabled

You need to use language and examples that respect all of your patients. This means knowing
about different cultures and knowing what health treatments and practices are acceptable for
different groups of people.

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3. Writing clearly to our patients and service

users

Before you write think of your reader. This will make it easier for you and for patients and
service users. If you are writing a letter, email, patient information leaflet or consent form, you
need to consider:
• how familiar are your readers with the terms you are using?
• how are you going to structure your information logically?

Whatever and wherever you write, remember to:

• be personal and direct
• use everyday words and numbers
• be careful with jargon
• write using the ‘active’ tense
• avoid abstract nouns
• be concise

Let’s look at each of these points in turn.

Be personal and direct

Use ‘I’, ‘we’ and ‘you’ in documents, where possible. They help the reader to feel considered
and involved.

Instead of Write

patient, service user you

the HSE we

Use everyday words and numbers

Avoid formal and complicated words wherever possible.

Instead of Write

accompany join

ascertain find out

commence start

endeavour try

consequently so

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Instead of Write

0.001% chance 1 in 1,000 chance

When trying to lower the health numeracy demands on your readers, you might also try
some or all of the following.
• Be aware that many of us find numeracy skills challenging, for example reading a label on
a prescription.
• Describe numbers consistently (for example, don’t use percent on one line and fractions
on the next).
• Explain the meaning of numbers (for example, use terms like ‘low risk’ and ‘high risk’).

Finally, please note that words such as ‘majority’, ‘common’ and ‘frequent’ are not always
easier to interpret than numbers.

Be careful with jargon

Avoid jargon. While you may know what a word means, your readers may not. If you use
unfamiliar words, explain them as you go along. If this clutters up your text, put the
explanations in a glossary. Use the same terms consistently. Please see pages 11-13 for a list
of medical words and their plainer alternatives. Remember as well to avoid foreign words,
abbreviations and acronyms.

Write actively
Try to use the active voice most of the time in your writing (and when speaking).

Active Passive

The nurse can vaccinate your child. Your child can be vaccinated by the nurse.

The consultant drafted the care plan. The care plan was drafted by the consultant.

An inspection of the patient records will be

The committee will inspect patient records.
conducted by the committee.

Use the active voice about 80% of the time to make sentences more direct.

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Avoid abstract nouns

Here are some examples of abstract nouns and the verb you should use instead.

Instead of Write

appearance appear

consideration consider

development develop

To convert nouns into verbs, you will often need to rephrase things.

Be concise
Keep sentences to 15 to 20 words on average. This will improve punctuation as well. Mix
shorter and longer sentences for variation. Avoid wordy phrases.

Instead of Write

in reference to about

in the event that if

under the provisions of under, according to

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Structure and design

When deciding on the structure and design of your materials, remember to:
• use headings
• use bold to highlight
• keep your paragraphs short
• left align paragraphs
• use bulleted list
• use charts and images (where useful)
• use the HSE brand guidelines along with those of your hospital group or community
healthcare organisation (CHO)
• use health literacy checklist on page 23

Use headings
You can use headings that are statements or questions. Avoid using one-word headings such
as ‘Introduction’ but instead write ‘About this document’.

Use bold to highlight

Use bold instead of italics and underlining as italics or underlining make text harder to read.
Bold is also useful to highlight text unlike using all capitals. Using all capitals makes text harder
to read and can look harsh.

Keep your paragraphs short

A paragraph should never be longer than its width. If it is, you’ll produce a block of text that is
off-putting and unattractive to read.

Left align paragraphs

Left-aligned paragraphs make text easier to read than justified text. Justified text can create
gaps between words, which slows down reading particularly for people with dyslexia.

Use bulleted lists

A list should always be grammatically correct.
• Make sure each item follows logically from the introduction to the list.
• Keep lists to a maximum of eight points (where possible) or use subheadings.
• Start and end a list on the same page.

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For bullets with no lead-in sentence

Start with a capital and end with a full stop.

Example:
There are three main points about swine flu in 2017.
• There were 12,000 reported cases of swine flu in 2017.
• Of these, 5,000 people were hospitalised.
• None of the people who got swine flu had been immunised.

For bullets with a lead-in sentence

Use lower case at the start of the bullet point. Introduce the list with a colon (:), but do not
punctuate bullet point list items.

Example:
People like bullets because they:
• are easy to read
• grab attention
• signpost what a page is about

Use charts and images (where useful)

Images and charts help illustrate text, but only if they are relevant to the message and clearly
add to it. Again, we ask you to remember that many people find numbers difficult.

You should avoid images just for the sake of having them. If they are not really relevant, they
can confuse your reader. See also tips on using images on page 14.

Use brand guidelines

Use the HSE brand guidelines, www.hse.ie/branding These contain important instructions such
as using Arial when writing text and Helvetica for documents you are getting professionally
designed. They also guide us on how to put the HSE logo on letterheads, documents and all
public information materials and where hospital group and CHO logos should appear.

Use health literacy checklist

Use the health literacy checklist on page 23 to check if your document is appropriate for your
audience.

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4. Speaking clearly to our patients and service

users

• Introduce yourself by saying: “Hello my name is…”

• Speak clearly: “How can I help you?”
• Make eye contact
• Put yourselves in your patients’ and service users’ shoes: “Is there anything else you
need to know?”
• Use plain language to explain complex terms: “Let me explain…”

Teach-back technique
The teach-back technique is a very simple way for you to assess and confirm that people
understand what you have told them. Simply ask them one or two questions to find out if they
can repeat back the key information you have told them.

Example: Physiotherapist:
• What are the three exercises you are going to do every day?
• How many times will you do them each day?

If the person is not able to respond correctly, they have not understood your advice. Go over
the instructions again in a nice way to make it clearer. See www.teachbacktraining.org for more
information.

Ask Me 3
Ask Me 3 encourages people to ask their health professional the following questions at the end
of every health appointment or consultation; when preparing for a medical test or procedure; or
when picking up medicine.

• What is my main problem?

• What do I need to do?
• Why is it important for me to do this?

Ask Me 3 was developed by the National Patient Safety Foundation in the USA.

See www.npsf.org/page/askme3 for more information.

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5. List of medical words and how to explain

them

It is important to use clear and concise medical words. If you have to use medical terminology,
then explain what it means.

Instead of Consider
Acute Sudden and severe

Administer Give

Antenatal Before birth

Audiology Hearing

Benign Harmless

Biopsy Studying tissue to check for disease

Cardiology Studying and treating the heart

Catheter Tube

Central nervous system Brain and spinal cord

Chemotherapy Treating cancer with drugs

Chronic Long-lasting, slow to change

Coagulate Clot

Congenital From birth

Contagious Spreading easily

Contraindication Reason not to take

Contusion Bruise

Diagnosis Identifying a health condition

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Instead of Consider
Dosage How to take

Elective Optional (not urgent)

Epidermis Skin

Excise Cut out

Gastroenteritis Stomach illness

Haemophilia Severe bleeding

Hypertension High blood pressure

Immunise Protect

Incision Cut

Inhalation Breathing in

Intravenous Through a vein

Lateral At (on) the side

Malignant Harmful, cancerous

Mammogram Breast X-ray

Medication Tablets, injection (specify)

Monitor Keep track of

Myopia Short-sight

Negative (test results) You do not have, you are not

Normal range As it should be

Ophthalmic Eye

Physician Doctor

Positive (test results) You have, you are

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Instead of Consider
Prognosis Likely outcome, chance of recovery

Renal Kidney

Respiration Breathing

Rheumatology Muscles and joints

Symptoms Signs of a sickness

Therapy Treatment

Trachea Wind pipe

Ventricle Lower chamber of the heart

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6. Tips on using images

Images
Use images if they are useful and relevant. Don’t use purely decorative images. This tip also
applies to graphs, charts and infographics as well as photographs and illustrations.

Voice and tone

Images say as much about us as words. Ensure the images are real, relatable and sympathetic
to the reader.

Images of people
Choose images that are inclusive.
• Avoid idealised, ‘photo-shoot’-style images of people. Choose normal pictures of normal
people.
• Use images that don't reinforce negative or stereotypical attitudes especially for ethnicity,
age or gender.

Captions
People tend to spend time reading captions, particularly if the image is good and relevant.
Write captions in full sentences. They can be 2 or 3 sentences long.

Get written consent

You need written consent from people before you publish their images on HSE written and
digital material. The HSE Communications Division has standard forms that you can use to get
their signed consent. See www.hse.ie/imageconsentform

Don't embed text

Don’t embed text in an image. Screen readers can’t read it.

Avoid background images

Avoid using background images behind text. Many organisations use illustrations as a
background image. This makes text harder to read, especially if the background image is very
colourful. Background images, even if faint, make text difficult to read.

Copyright
There is no such thing as a ‘copyright free’ image. You can use:
• images that the HSE owns the rights to use
• free images with suitable licences (example: Creative Commons but remember to
attribute them correctly)

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7. Plain English checklist for speaking

Yes No
You and your environment

1. Is your body language appropriate for the message you are conveying?  

2. Have you kept background noise to a minimum?  

3. Have you made sure that you do not have your back to a light source,
which makes it difficult for the other person to see your face?  

Your listener

4. Do you know how well they understand English, words and numbers?  

5. Do you know how well they understand your topic?  

6. If you are using visuals, are they relevant and familiar to your audience?  

Delivering a clear message

7. Have you introduced yourself by saying “Hello, my name is…”?  

8. Have you stated the purpose of your conversation at the start?  

9. Are you speaking clearly and in a way that suits your audience?  

10. Have you kept your message simple with no more than four messages?  

11. Have you used everyday language and explained necessary jargon?  

12. Have you encouraged questions?  

13. For automated phone messages, have you used a small number
of clear options?  

Checking understanding

14. Did you check that the listener can tell you what they need to do?  

15. Have you asked the listener if there is anything else they need to know?  

16. Have you thought of using teach-back technique (see page 10)?  

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Plain English checklist for documents

Yes No
Written text
1. Does the document use ‘you’ and ‘we’, where possible?  

2. Does it use the active voice most of the time?  

3. Does it keep technical terms and abbreviations to a minimum?  

4. Does it define any necessary terms and abbreviations clearly?  

5. Does it keep ‘medical jargon’ to a minimum?  

6. Does it avoid Latin and French phrases and Latin abbreviations?  

7. Does it use the same term for the same concept throughout?  

8. Does it have an average of 15 to 20 words in each sentence?  

9. Does it use correct punctuation?  

Structure
10. Does it use informative headings or questions to break up text?  

11. Does it include a natural flow from one point to the next?  

12. Are paragraphs relatively short?  

13. Does it use bullet point lists for detailed or complicated information?  

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Yes No
Page design
14. Is the font size at least 12 point or ideally 14 point?  

15. Is the font type clear? HSE brand guidelines recommend Arial
for documents and Helvetica for design.  

16. Is text aligned to the left?  

17. Is text 1.5 spaced?  

18. Does it avoid underlining, groups of italics and unnecessary

capital letters?  

19. Are images, charts or blocks of colour, if any, clear and relevant?  

20. Does the text contrast effectively with the background?  

21. Does your document follow the HSE brand guidelines and those of
hospital groups and CHOs?  

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Plain English checklist for forms

Yes No
Language, punctuation and grammar
1. Does the form use ‘you’ and ‘we’, where possible?  

2. Are most questions in the active voice?  

3. Are questions written clearly and unambiguously?  

4. Does the form define any specialised terms or abbreviations clearly?  

5. Does the form avoid Latin and French phrases and Latin abbreviations?  

6. Are questions punctuated correctly?  

7. Do similar questions use similar words and punctuation?  

8. Do questions use the simplest verb tense possible?  

9. Do questions avoid abstract nouns?  

Structure
10. Does the form include clear instructions ideally at the start?  

11. Are ‘official use only’ sections, if any, near the end of the form?  

12. Does the form ask questions in a logical order?  

13. Does it avoid unnecessary or repeated questions?  

14. Does it group similar questions together under useful headings?  

15. Does it keep numbering as simple as possible?  

Page design
16. Does it avoid underlining, groups of italics and unnecessary capital letters?  

17. Does the form use a typeface (font) that is easy to read?  

18. Is it clear where to give answers?  

19. Is there enough space for answers?  

20. Does the form use tick-the-box questions where possible?  

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Plain English checklist for numbers

Yes No
Assumptions
1. Are you clear about the meaning of the numbers you are presenting?  

2. Are you clear about what your audience needs to understand?  

3. Have you considered the barriers to their understanding?  

Conventions and consistency

4. Have you been consistent in the way you have written units of measure,
time, decimals, percentages, fractions, language and so on?  

5. Have you used plain words to describe specialist terms and phrases?  

6. Is numeric probability described in simple terms?  

7. Where a sentence starts with a number, have you written it in words?  

8. When using percent, have you used the percentage symbol (%)?  

9. Have you written percent with digits? For example, 20%  

Format and layout in tables, graphs and charts

10. Have you used a simple format for presenting your numbers?  

11. Are columns and rows ordered by size?  

12. Are the numbers compared by columns and not rows?  

13. Have you aligned numbers and column headings to the right?  

14. Do your tables, charts and graphs use information headings?  

15. If using axes, is the scale clear?  

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Yes No

Integrity of numbers
16. Has your presentation of numbers kept their meaning?  

17. Have you used clear examples to spell out what the numbers mean?  

18. Have you put a clear link to your sources?  

19. Have you been upfront about the age of your sources?  

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Plain English checklist for web content

Yes No
Written text
1. Does it use ‘you’ and ‘we’, where possible?  

2. Does it use the active voice most of the time?  

3. Does it keep technical terms and abbreviations to a minimum?  

4. Does it define any necessary terms and abbreviations clearly?  

5. Does it keep ‘medical jargon’ to a minimum?  

6. Does it avoid Latin and French phrases and Latin abbreviations?  

7. Does it use the same term for the same concept throughout?  

8. Does it have an average of 11 to 15 words in each sentence?  

9. If you have rewritten a document for online use, is it shorter

(about half the length) of the printed document?  

10. Does it use correct punctuation?  

11. Does it use verbs to get people to take the action needed?  

12. Have you developed text for any videos you are using?  

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Yes No
Structure
13. Does it use informative headings or questions for easy skimming?  

14. Does it include a natural flow from one point to the next?  

15. Are your paragraphs on each page short and snappy with one idea in
each paragraph?  

16. Does it use bullet point lists for detailed or complicated information?  

17. Have you given the conclusion, or main message or research findings
in the top half of your web material or page?  

18. Are your links descriptive and specific?  

19. Have you written summaries of longer documents and provided a

link to the full document?  

Page design
20. Is the font size at least 12 point or ideally 14 point?  

21. Have you used a sans serif font like Arial?  

22. Is text aligned to the left?  

23. Is text 1.5 spaced?  

24. Does it avoid underlining, groups of italics and unnecessary capital letters?  

25. Are images, charts or blocks of colour clear and relevant to the text?  

26. Does it minimise the number of clicks needed for the reader to find
the information they want?  

27. Does the text contrast effectively with the background?

(Your text should be in a colour that is easy to read and contrasts
strongly with the background, for example black or white.)  

28. Does each image have a caption?  

The HSE’s Content Style Guide will give you more information on creating content for online
use, see www.hse.ie/content-guide

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8. Health literacy checklist for documents

The following checklist can help you develop and check the clarity of your patient information
resource. You can answer one of three answers: Yes, No or Not Applicable. Try to answer Yes
or No to as many questions as possible. You should get a minimum score of 80%. If your
patient information leaflet scores lower, you need to edit it further using the plain English
guidelines in this booklet.

Answer questions 1 to 20 for every patient information leaflet.

Answer Questions 21 to 26 if your information resource contains health information that talks
about patients having to change their behaviour, and or information about risk.

We show you how to calculate your score after the checklist.

Does your written material address the following?

Yes No N/A

Main message and actions

1. Does the resource have one main message?   

2. Is the main or most important message at the start,

top or at the front of the resource?   

3. Is the main message highlighted by prompts?

(Prompts include font, colour, shapes, lines, arrows or headings.)   

4. Is there at least one image used in the resource that supports

or conveys the main message?   

5. Does the material include instructions or actions for the reader

to perform?   

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Yes No N/A

Language

6. Does the main message include the purpose or instructions and

use an active voice?   
Example:

‘We will ask you to ‘You will be asked to

provide a urine sample.’ provide a urine sample.’
(active) (passive)

7. Does the resource use the words patients use? (Plain English)   

Information design

8. Is there a sequence or logical format to the resource?   

9. Is the resource divided into sections or chunks with headings?   

10. Are there bullet points or numbered lists in the resource?   

11. Is there an awareness and respect for cultural diversity?   

For instance, do any images used show a range of people?

Format

12. Have you used a sans serif font like Arial?   

13. Are key words, phrases and the main message

of the material repeated?   

14. Have you presented numbers as digits?   

(Example: using ‘4’ instead of ‘four’ spelt out)

15. Have you made sure that patients do not have to calculate numbers?   

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Yes No N/A

16. Have you explained the meanings of numbers?   

For example: ‘We recommend that as part of a
healthy dinner you eat 3 to 4 ounces of meat – it will look
about the same size as a deck of cards.’

State of the evidence

17. Is the information accurate?   

18. Is the information up-to-date?   

19. Is the information based on evidence?   

20. Is what is both known and unknown stated?   

That is: What we know today may not be complete or
fully accurate and may not be sufficient to answer all
of the public’s questions.

Behavioural recommendations

21. Does the resource include one or more recommendations

to change the patient’s behaviour?   

22. Have you explained the reason why it is important

for the patient to change their behaviour?   

23. Does the resource include specific and easy to understand

directions about how the patient can change their behaviour
to improve their health?   

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Yes No N/A

Risk

24. Are both the risks and benefits of behaviour

recommendations explained?   

25. Is the nature of risk clearly explained?   

26. Is numeric probability described in simple terms?   

For example:
‘Heart disease causes 1 in 5 deaths (20%)’ instead of just 20%.

Yes No

Total  

Total questions answered Yes + No

To calculate the health literacy score

Questions answered ‘Yes’ x 100%

_______________________________ = % health literacy score
Total questions answered

Acceptable score: 80% or higher

Example:

Total questions answered (yes + no) = 20

Of these answered yes = 15

15 (yes) x 100 = 1500

1500 ÷ 20 (total answered) = 75

Healthy literacy score = 75% (You need to do a little editing to reach 80%.)

(Adapted from the Saolta, Galway University Hospital Policy on the Development of Written Patient Information.)

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9. Useful resources

HSE Communicating clearly desktop card and posters

These guidelines and posters help you and your colleagues, patients and service users to
communicate clearly www.hse.ie/communicatingclearly You can order free copies on the
professionals’ section of www.healthpromotion.ie

Well Now!
Well Now! is a ‘literacy-friendly’ course on health and wellbeing for adults developed by NALA.
The guide is for adult literacy and community education services who wish to provide these
courses.
www.nala.ie/wellnow

It’s safer to ask

This is a HSE patient safety information leaflet. To ensure that you or your family member
receive the best care possible, you should always:
• ask questions
• talk with your healthcare team
• listen and note down the information they give
www.hse.ie/eng/services/yourhealthservice/hcharter/SafertoAsk.pdf

Simply Put
NALA’s plain English website. This site also has free plain English resources such as A to Z
Guides to legal terms (useful for consent forms) and updates on developments on plain
English.
www.simplyput.ie

Irish Patients' Association

The Irish Patients’ Association’s mission is to keep the patient at the centre of the healthcare
system. It does this by advocating for the needs of patients to be paramount while working in
partnership with health providers.
www.irishpatients.ie

Health Literacy
This health literacy website from expert, Helen Osborne, includes tips and articles about how
to communicate more clearly with patients and colleagues.
www.healthliteracy.com

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European Health Literacy Centre

This site is for health professionals, policymakers, educators, researchers and other
stakeholders who are interested in health literacy.
www.healthliteracycentre.eu

National Patient Safety Foundation (in the USA)

This organisation developed the Ask Me 3 programme. Its website has free materials and
resources that you may find useful.
www.npsf.org/page/askme3

Teachback
See www.teachbacktraining.org for more information about this technique.

HIQA Guidance for providers of health and social care services: Communicating in plain
English
NALA, in association with HIQA, published guidance documents for health and social care
providers on communicating in plain English when working with adults and with children.
www.hiqa.ie
You might also like to view a video about health literacy and health-literacy friendly practice.
HIQA’s YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/21Ur4xQ

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Have you seen our other

Communicating Clearly Publications?
Available to order on www.healthpromotion.ie free of charge.

A5 desktop card – a card that you can display on your desk with some tips on how to use
plain English with your patients and service users.

A3 posters
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Code: HNC01094
November 2017

HSE Communications Division

Dr Steevens’ Hospital, Dublin 8, D08 W2A8.

Tel: 01-635 2000

Web: www.hse.ie/communicatingclearly
www.healthpromotion.ie