Awareness and First Aid
This Heritage Month, three ER24 medics share how their ability to speak different South African languages helps them better connect with patients, no matter their location.
For Shulammite Mashego, being a South African Sign Language (SASL) interpreter for the National Relay Service (NRS) is about making people feel seen and heard.
“Being able to assist Deaf people in their language is incredibly important to me. I am not merely bridging communication barriers, but I’m also fostering accessibility, inclusion and mutual respect. By assisting them in SASL, I’m validating their culture and identity.”
She explains that having access to an interpreter completely transforms a Deaf patient’s healthcare experience.
Not only does it help them communicate their health concerns, but it also enables them to seek clarity and better understand their diagnosis. She emphasises how SASL interpreters are essential in building trust between Deaf people and healthcare providers.
“That’s why the recognition of SASL as South Africa’s 12th official language had such a profound impact—not only on the Deaf community, but also on the work I do as a National Relay Officer and SASL interpreter,” Shulammite says.
Karabo Moloto, a medic at ER24 Limpopo, speaks seven South African languages: Sepedi, Sesotho, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Setswana, Tshivenda, English and Afrikaans—Sepedi being his home language. For him, being multilingual has become a lifeline when he’s out on the road saving lives.
“Communicating with a patient in their home language makes it easier to understand their conditions; it also helps them feel at ease at that particular moment when they are in an emergency,” he explains. “More importantly, it helps patients stay calm and makes them feel reassured, making it possible to get vital information, like what allergies they may have.”
Karabo believes that being able to converse with patients in their mother tongue creates camaraderie that goes a long way in building a sense of community and trust—even with family members—when important medical details are required and the patient cannot speak for themselves at that moment.
“Being multilingual has also opened doors to opportunities, meaning you can work virtually anywhere in South Africa,” he adds.
Chris Musehane, also a medic from ER24 Limpopo, speaks Tshivenda, his home language, but switches seamlessly between Sesotho, Tsonga, English, Northern Sotho, Afrikaans, isiZulu, and isiXhosa, depending on the language spoken by the patient he is interacting with.
“From my own experiences with language being a barrier, I realised that speaking to patients in their own language actually helps the healing process, you go from being a medic to being a healthcare provider that they can freely and confidently communicate with during the emergency because most patients prefer you to assist them in their mother tongue,” he says.
He recalls treating an elderly patient who was overjoyed that he could speak to her in her language. “That small moment created the trust I needed to assist her.”
This Heritage Month, ER24 celebrates South Africa’s 12 official languages and the dedicated people who use them every day while saving lives.