Dr Rachael Grimaldi is an anaesthetist based at The Royal Sussex County Hospital.  She decided to try and solve a major problem when she heard the story of a critically ill patient who talked about his terror when he couldn’t understand what healthcare staff were saying to him through their personal protective equipment (face masks, visors and hoods).

Rachael was on maternity leave and stranded in the US because of COVID restrictions so she decided to put her time and energy into coming up with a solution that would benefit her frontline NHS colleagues and their patients.  Rachael set to work on a series of flashcards with key messages. Within 72 hours, she had developed a free online resource in 10 languages and a read-aloud option for partially sighted or blind patients.

In this podcast, Rachael discusses Card Medic's development and her aspirations to remove communication barriers across all healthcare provision.

https://www.cardmedic.com/our-story/