I need to spend a penny

In intercultural teams these idiomatic expressions can be very challenging. It won’t always be clear that it means ‘go to the toilet’. 

This is just one example of how our use of language can be unclear if you, your colleagues or patients speak English as an additional language. 

There are over 25,000 idiomatic expressions like this in the English language. Here we offer just a few that may be heard or used frequently in a healthcare setting.