November 2023: Engage Britain has now merged with Demos. You can still find all our work from 2019-2023 here, but to get in touch or find out about our new ventures, go to https://demos.co.uk/

“Sometimes common sense is overlooked”

“We had family friends. They didn’t speak English very well. And she went critically ill. And her daughter, who was 12 years old, was the only person that could link her to this… she was very fluent in English and their own language. And when they went to the hospital they dismissed the girl because they said she was a minor. But Mum felt comfortable having the daughter to explain what was happening but because they felt was a minor, so she couldn’t be involved. And then they had to reschedule for her to be seen. And the appointment was put almost four weeks away. And then after…was it about a week or less than a week?…then she collapsed. And then she had to be taken by an ambulance. So that was something that could have been avoided had they, you know… So I think sometimes some of the structures, the gatekeepers that are put in place sometimes are not necessary. Yes, they are there to safeguard. But I think sometimes common sense is overlooked.”