HERTFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NHS TRUST

INTERPRETING SERVICE

INFORMATION FOR STAFF

  1. About the service
  • The service co-ordinates and provides sessional interpreting services to support communication between staff and patients who are not articulate in English
  • Interpreters enable staff to correctly identify and meet patients’ needs so that healthcare services are effective, safe and fair
  • The aim is that patients from minority groups receive equality of access, treatment and outcomes
  • Impartial professional interpreters can be crucial in uncovering instances of abuse
  • The service trains and supports staff with information and advice
  • When requested, interpreters will confirm appointments with the patient to avoid wasted appointments

The service is available to GP practices, dental services, opticians, pharmacists and all community services across Hertfordshire. It also provides interpreters to Hertfordshire mental health services but not to hospital staff.

The service uses interpreters working on a sessional basis as well as agencies, and can also provide specialist communication experts such as British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters.

All interpreters are trained and abide by a confidentiality code.

  1. When will you need to use the service

The service advises healthcare staff to use interpreting services where language barriers have been identified in order to improve the patient experience. Sometimes people who have good spoken English as an additional language may lose this skill when stressed, unwell or due to the ageing process.

It is recommended that staff encourage patients not to use friends and relatives – especially children – for interpreting purposes. The untrained interpreter may add or omit information, have difficulty with medical terms and be unwilling to give bad news. If they are concerned that the interpreter may be from their community please request an interpreter from another town.

Children and adolescents should never be used as interpreters for clinical appointments. Their understanding and interpreting ability is not reliable, often they will have to miss school, and patients may not be able to speak freely through a child.

It is not good practice to use adult friends and relativesfor interpreting services. In cases of abuse the use of friends and relatives may mask the problem. Staff should be aware that they may have their own agenda and that the patient may not feel able to speak freely through them. Often they have great difficulty or are unable to give bad news.

  1. Languages requested in Hertfordshire

The service accommodates for all languages and can advise staff on selecting appropriate interpreters for individuals; the following sample is for reference only:

AFRICAN
Ebo/Ibo/Igbo (Nigeria)
Shona (Botswana, Zimbabwe)
Somali (east Africa)
Swahili (sub-Saharan)
Tigrinya (Ethiopia, S Eritrea, Tigre)
Twi (Ghana)
Wolof (Gambia, Senegal) / EUROPEAN
Albanian
Bosnian/Croatian (check if Muslim or Christian preferred)
Bulgarian
French
Italian
Hungarian
Lithuanian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Slovak
Spanish
Turkish
ARAB and MIDDLE EAST
Arabic (include country as very widespread)
Kurdish Sorani or Kurmanji (Iraq)
Farsi/Persian / CHINA
Cantonese
Mandarin
ASIAN SUB-CONTINENT
Afghanistan
Dari
Pashto / Bangladesh
Bangla (Bengali)
dialect – Sylheti (prevalent)
India
Hindi
Gujarati
Telugu
Malayalam / Pakistan
Urdu
Dialects – Pahari,
Punjabi (Pakistani or Indian/Sikh version)
Sri Lanka
Tamil
Sinhala
  1. What to expect from the interpreter

The interpreter is expected to:

  • Interpret to the best of their ability neither omitting or adding information and to be impartial
  • To use a range of skills and knowledge in addition to their bilingual ability, including the ability to:

-write down instructions given by the clinician

-reflect the individual’s emotional tone and language register including any inappropriate words such as swearing

The interpreter should:

  • Be unaccompanied and wear an ID badge
  • Introduce him/herself and the clinician to the individual at the beginning of the appointment and explain that:

-the service is free

-they are a trained, professional interpreter

-they are bound by a confidentiality code

-they will interpret everything that is said

The interpreter will ask for more information from the clinician or the individual if something is ambiguous or unclear. Don’t worry if the interpreting is taking longer than expected. There may not be a directly equivalent word or concept in the language used, so this may take longer to explain. The interpreter should explain when this happens.

The interpreter can sometimes assist communication by offering advice with their knowledge of the cultural background.

Good interpreting requires a lot of concentration and the interpreter will benefit froma short break after 50 to 60 minutes.

  1. What the interpreting service needs to know (via the booking form to be emailed to )
  • The venue with postcode
  • The day and date, and the start and end times of the appointment
  • The patient/service user name – to check if they know one another
  • The nature of the session so the interpreter can prepare
  • The staff name and contact number
  • The preferred language or dialect
  • The patient’s gender as the same gender interpreter is often preferred
  1. How to use the interpreting service for best effect

The following section gives some advice on using interpreters

  • Allow extra time for the appointment
  • Brief and debrief
  • Speak and look at the person, not the interpreter
  • Speak normally, e.g. “How are you today?” rather than “How is he feeling today?” The interpreter should speak in the first person as if they were the person
  • Avoid slang and jargon and allow the interpreter to speak when you have completed one to three whole sentences
  • Remember the interpreter needs to stay impartial so prefers, where possible, to avoid chatting with the patient
  • To check if an individual has understood, ask a question that needs the reply “no”
  • Sum up the main points at the end
  • Block booking is welcome for a series of appointments
  1. How to access the service

All interpreting work should be organised through the service co-ordinator, Penny Bennetts, either by emailing or faxing a booking form (download from intranet). Please give as much notice as possible.

To request an interpreter use a booking form and email to

A charge will be made to the team or directorate in the following two instances:

  • An interpreter has been booked but the patient’s appointment has been rescheduled or cancelled without notifying the service
  • Prolonged and heavy use of the service – more than 3 sessions or 5 hours per week for 6 weeks

For further information contact Penny Bennetts: 01707 388047

Comments are welcome to support the development of the service to the needs of patients and staff.

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