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Dear Jim I do quite a bit of telephone interpreting and it has a place, especially in situations like ambulance crews needing support, but to move to exclusive use of the telephone suggests a lack of basic understanding about communication between people (why do people hate talking to automated voices when they phone the gas company?) Way back in about 1972 a guy called Mehrabian did some work on the components of communication and found that only 7% of meaning is carried by the words. The rest is carried by voice (i.e. intonation etc) but mostly it comes from visual input. We pick up huge amounts of 'meaning' from accompanying gesture, posture and facial expressions. Add to that the fact that telephone lines are not always crystal clear and you've got an interpreter working at a serious disadvantage which will disadvantage the care providers and the patient too. Sorry to be a wet blanket but I think the phone is for very specific kinds of job Regards Jan Mehrabian, A. (1972) Nonverbal Communication. Chicago, New York: Aldine Atherton. There are others, but this one was seminal. From: Health of minority ethnic communities in the UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robinson, James Sent: 19 May 2010 15:45 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Telephone interpreting Dear all There was some conversation around telephone interpreting in November last year. One of the contributions seemed to suggest in some areas there was a move away from face to face toward telephone services. Is anyone aware of any Trusts or Boards that have moved exclusively or predominantly to telephone interpreting? Jim Jim Robinson Equality and Health Improvement Facilitator Lothian University Hospitals Office Address: The Bungalow Community Child Health 10 Chalmers Crescent Edinburgh EH9 1TS Tel +44 (0) 131 536 0055 ***************************************************************** The information contained in this message may be confidential or legally privileged and is intended for the addressee only. If you have received this message in error or there are any problems please notify the originator immediately. The unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or alteration of this message is strictly forbidden. *****************************************************************