Legally, it could well prove to be
uneconomic to discriminate on the grounds of language (see the Human Rights Act
too, which has a non-exhaustive list of the grounds on which we shouldn’t
discriminate), although I agree we need some test cases to raise the profile.
What we also need is some research to show that it is uneconomic for other
reasons, to counteract all the carping about the cost to the NHS of providing
language services.
The RNID estimate that the NHS loses £20
million a year through failing to address the needs of deaf patients (leading
to repeat appointments, missed appointments, unnecessary tests, non-compliance,
etc). This gives some idea of what might be lost through not providing interpreters
for non-English speakers.
Jackie
From:
Health of minority ethnic communities in the UK
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lorraine Culley
Sent: 12 January 2009 17:55
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Guide on Medical
Translation
This is certainly an important patient
safety issue - there was a good article in New England Journal of Med July 2006
by Glen Flores on the catastrophic consequences of a lack of interpreters in
the ER. Some useful references in this paper also. I am not a legal
expert, but I think the failure to provide adequate interpretation must amount
to indirect discrimination under the Race Relations Act. I think its time
that the HRC brought a case to test this - might shake a few people up
once it starts to become 'uneconomic' to discriminate on the grounds of
language!
I think Jan (previous contributor)
has some 'standards' - though these may not be
Professor of Social Science and Health
Associate Director Mary Seacole Research Centre
De Montfort University
Tel. 0116 257 7753
Fax: 0116 257 7778
Knowledgeshare Editor: Diversity in Health and Social Care (Radcliffe)
From: Health of
minority ethnic communities in the UK on behalf of James Stephen
Sent: Mon 12/01/2009 17:41
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Guide on Medical
Translation
Maternity
On the justification for working with
interpreters - locally, we find a clinical governance argument seems perhaps to
get the widest acceptance. Some people think that patients should provide
interpreters at their own expense, because they say interpreting is not part of
health care, and they refer to practice in other European countries. One answer
that seems to work is that health professionals need interpreters in order to
provide a safe and effective service, e.g. to identify the patient, symptoms
etc. So the interpreter is a specialist resource for other health
professionals, just as they need to call on the services of other therapists,
labs,
Thanks, Stephen
Stephen James, Head of Partnerships and
Diversity, Ealing Primary Care Trust,
-----Original
Message-----
From: Health of minority ethnic
communities in the UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alison Hipwell
Sent: 10 January 2009 13:11
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Guide on Medical
Translation
Thanks
for circulating this document, Mary - it's particularly useful to me at the
moment as I'm currently writing my justification for working with interpreters
& translators in my PhD research!
Do we have comparable national
guidelines in the
Thanks,
Alison
From: Health of
minority ethnic communities in the UK on behalf of Mary Phelan
Sent: Fri 09/01/2009 20:46
To:
[log in to unmask]
Subject: Guide on Medical
Translation
The US based
International Medical Interpreters Association has a new online Guide on
Medical Translation available at:
Regards
Mary Phelan
School of Applied
Language and Intercultural Studies
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