During Experience of Care week we're introducing you to members of the Trust's Patient Experience team and the other services we can provide to improve your experience of our hospitals. Meet our team of interpreters.
The main role of the Interpreting Team is to facilitate communication between two or more people who use different languages, either spoken or written. This entails transferring messages from one language to another in a way that makes their intended meaning as easily understandable to the recipient as possible.
As interpreters, we facilitate communication between the non-English service users and Trust staff by transferring their dialogue from one language to another as accurately as possible and in an unbiased and non-judgemental way. We are responsible for ensuring everything is communicated accurately in their preferred language.
Even though interpretation is our main role, as a part of Patient Experience Team, we also offer many other aids to service users. The majority of people we deal with not only cannot communicate in English, but are also unaware of how the services of the Trust or the NHS operate. We offer support and guidance to patients, carers and family members. We provide an introduction to the services offered by the Trust and assistance in accessing/navigating the system.
Very often, service users don’t know where to search for information or help; this can be very stressful, especially when they do not speak the language. We as interpreters act as advocates and advise on what assistance and support is available.
We also translate (written interpretation) leaflets, clinic letters, case notes, discharge letters and many other documents which may be required as part of the patient’s treatment pathway.
View a video from our interpreters on Facebook.
