Overcoming language barriers to care
In November 2023, Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull partnered with local translation firm AA Global. Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull can refer its interpreter volunteers to AA Global as a route into paid work. At the same time, AA Global can send people to Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull to volunteer and gain experience.
This innovative arrangement helps Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull to reach the wider community, especially those who don't speak English.
How did it all begin?
Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull spoke to people in the community about issues that are important to them. They discovered that people who do not speak English struggled to read letters from their healthcare providers. At the same time, few health services had translators available to help people understand important information about their care.
Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull saw this as an opportunity to get more people involved with volunteering while helping reach out to people struggling to access care due to language barriers.
Breaking through barriers
As a result of people raising concerns about language barriers, Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull took action to address the need for better translation services in healthcare settings, including GP services and hospitals.
Volunteer interpreters are now available to help people describe symptoms to medical staff, understand the advice they're getting, and register for services. Now, more community members are getting the care they need.
"The help they provide is very practical but very useful. For example, our Romanian language volunteer helped people from the Romanian community register with a GP, and now more people are getting the care they need,” said Matthew Boast, Project Officer at Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull.
Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull currently have volunteers who can help people speaking Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian and Romanian, and the team are looking to add more languages to this list.
The lasting impact
"This is about helping people who can't understand English well to access health and care services in Hull, and our volunteers are making NHS services more accessible [to those] who have moved to Hull from other countries," says Ellie Whitfield, Delivery Manager for Healthwatch Kingston upon Hull. "Because of people raising the issue of the language barrier with Healthwatch, a lot more people in Hull are now accessing vital health services."
What are patients' rights on interpreting and translation in the NHS?
National NHS guidance requires free interpreters to be providing during primary care appointments for people who cannot speak English.
Best practice guidance also states that children, relatives or friends should not be used as information interpreters and that the NHS should book interpreters who meet professional standards and who ideally are familiar with medical terminology.
Our previous research has shown that the NHS doesn't always meet these requirements, for a variety of reasons, including:
- Lack of staff awareness about how to book
- Not checking patients' language needs before an appointment
- Lack of available professional interpreters
This often leaves people relying on volunteers, friends or family to help.
What are we doing to improve the use of interpreters in the NHS?
Healthwatch England sit on an NHS England working group that is developing a new framework for translation and interpreting services, which aims to ensure the language needs of patients are fully met by the NHS.
