Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with a healthcare language app from CardMedic, enabling its staff to communicate confidently with patients who face language or communication barriers.

The platform from Rewired Pitchfest 2022 champion CardMedic was rolled out across the organisation on 27 October 2025 to help staff and patients communicate safely and effectively irrespective of language barriers, cognitive impairment or literacy.

It provides instant access to live interpreters in more than 200 languages via Language Line, alongside thousands of clinically validated scripts in multiple languages and formats, including British Sign Language (BSL), Easy Read, and Read Aloud, as well as supporting health literacy for same language patients by explaining information in plain language.

Pam Fearns, chief nursing information officer at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, who led the project’s implementation, said: “CardMedic will enable patients to voice their needs where previously they may have struggled to communicate them.

“All conversations — such as asking whether someone wants a cup of tea, explaining a procedure, or offering reassurance — play a vital role in ensuring inclusivity. CardMedic enables equality across our services.”

The trust provides acute and community health services to a diverse population of around 300,000 people across Stockport, meaning that reliance on face-to-face interpreting has led to rapidly increasing annual costs, and communication barriers have impacted patient experience and safety.

Introducing CardMedic is expected to help address these pressures by providing staff with a single point of access to a suite of clinically designed communication support tools.

CardMedic will be deployed across 455 SPARK Fusion patient bedside devices on 20 wards at the trust’s Stepping Hill Hospital. 

Dr Rachael Grimaldi, co-founder and chief medical officer of CardMedic, said: “Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has demonstrated what equitable care in action looks like. No patient will be left without a voice in their care.

“By embedding CardMedic across wards and bedside devices, enabled through our partnership with SPARK TSL, they’re enabling communication that is instant, safe, and scalable.

“The partnership won’t just improve care for patients who face a language barrier. With CardMedic’s Easy Read and Read Aloud formats, it also helps support improved health literacy when language isn’t the main issue.”

SPARK TSL partners with more than 80 NHS trusts across the UK to deliver its SPARK platform that connects patients, staff, and systems at the bedside.

Jane Stephenson, chief executive at SPARK TSL, said: “This pioneering project demonstrates how technology can strengthen patient-centred care.

“We’re proud to be working with Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and CardMedic on embedding inclusive communication support in our SPARK Fusion bedside devices. Together, we’re making healthcare more accessible for all.”

Earlier this year CardMedic was awarded almost £500,000 in funding from SBRI Healthcare in April 2025 before securing £411,000 from Innovate UK’s SMART grant programme.