INTERPRETING POLICY
Version
6
Name of responsible (ratifying) committee
Equality and Diversity Committee
Date ratified
11/11/2013
Document Manager (job title)
Head of Patient Experience
Date issued
26th November 2013
Review date
November 2015
Electronic location
Corporate Policy
Related Procedural Documents
Key Words (to aid with searching)
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
Interpreting services; Interpreters, Ethnic Minorities;
Visual impairment; Braille; Hearing Impairment; Sign
Language; Confidentiality; Communication Methods
Page 1 of 14
Version
Date Ratified
Brief Summary of Changes
Author
6
Flow chart updated
Fiona McNeight
6
Section 6.1 updated to include child protection cases
Fiona McNeight
6
New section 6.2 – Out of hours procedure
Fiona McNeight
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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CONTENTS
QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE....................................................................................................... 4
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 5
2. PURPOSE ................................................................................................................................... 5
3. SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................ 5
4. DEFINITIONS .............................................................................................................................. 6
5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES .............................................................................................. 6
6. PROCESS ................................................................................................................................... 7
7. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS ...................................................................................................... 8
8. REFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION ............................................................ 8
9. EQUALITY IMPACT STATEMENT .............................................................................................. 9
Appendix 1 – Flow chart.................................................................................................................... 10
Appendix 2 – Booking a face to face interpreter ................................................................................ 11
Appendix 3 – How to use telephone interpreting ............................................................................... 12
Appendix 4 – Top 10 tips for telephone interpreting .......................................................................... 13
Appendix 5 – Guidelines for using face-to-face interpreters .............................................................. 14
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
For quick reference the guide below is a summary of actions required. This does not negate the need
for the document author and others involved in the process to be aware of and follow the detail of this
policy.
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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1. INTRODUCTION
This policy is designed to support staff working for Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust)
and provides information about how to access interpreting services for people who experience
communication barriers. The population of Portsmouth and the surrounding localities is diverse.
Portsmouth City Council reports that there are 99 different languages spoken by Portsmouth
school children. Over 13% of the population of Portsmouth is from a Black, Minority or Ethnic
community.
The Trust recognizes and welcomes its legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 and will ensure
that the interpreting and translation services comply with these legislative requirements.
The Trust aims to ensure that all users of its service are provided with a high standard of service
and experience, and good communication is fundamental. If the correct meaning is not
conveyed via effective communication, there is a risk of inducing feelings of confusion,
frustration, isolation, even anger and increase the scope of missing symptoms and hence
effecting diagnosis and treatment.
Many people use the terms ‘translation’ and ‘interpreting’ interchangeably, so it is important for
this Policy to denote the difference between the two; Interpreting deals with the spoken word;
Translation deals with the written word.
This policy deals with the cost-effective and co-ordinated provision of interpreters for staff and
patients with none or limited English proficiency, and speech and sensory impaired (hearing)
disabilities, within the Trust.
2. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to:
Ensure that the service users of the Trust who have limited English proficiency, including
speech and hearing disabilities, have access to the communication tools required to allow
complete understanding of their diagnosis and any proposed treatment, to enable a full
history and details of symptoms to be given, and to ensure that each service user’s
communication needs are met.

Reduce language, cultural and physical barriers to good communication.

Provide a prompt and efficient service which is equitable and accessible to all service
users.

Achieve the above in the most effective and economical way for the Trust.
3. SCOPE
This policy applies to all staff with patient contact in all areas of Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust.
‘In the event of an infection outbreak, flu pandemic or major incident, the Trust recognises
that it may not be possible to adhere to all aspects of this document. In such circumstances,
staff should take advice from their manager and all possible action must be taken to
maintain ongoing patient and staff safety’
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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4. DEFINITIONS
4.1 Interpreting – The spoken word transferred into another language including sign
language. Interpreting can be provided face to face or by telephone. Interpreting does not
include advocating for a service user.
4.2 Translating – the written word translated from one language into another language.
4.3 Interpreter – the person who facilitates communication from one language into another
language.
5. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
5.1 Executive Director

The accountable Executive Director responsible for overseeing the process for Interpreting
and Translation services for the Trust is the Director of Nursing.
5.2 Managers and Staff

All managers and staff are responsible for ensuring that this policy is correctly followed.

It is the duty of all Trust staff to ensure that service users with limited English proficiency, and
those with a speech or sensory disability, are enabled to understand what is being said to
them and to convey their response.

All interpreting services come at a cost to the organization, and it is each department’s
responsibility to ensure that any expenditure represents value for money. If face-to-face
interpreters are booked the following should be considered:-
Cancellation of hospital appointments with less than 24 hours notice by the Trust do
incur a cancellation charge by the current provider of interpreting services and this will
be cross charged to the department.
-
Service users with interpreters booked by the Trust should be seen in a timely manner
as the Trust is charged for the entire time the interpreter is present. There may be a
cross charge to individual departments where the waiting time appears excessive.
-
An alert will be triggered to the Patient Experience Team of any booking for a 1:1
interpreter over 3 hours in length.
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Bookings for 1:1 interpreters will be prospectively monitored by the Patient Experience
Team.
-
Interpreters should be booked with a minimum of 72 hours notice for planned
appointments. It may not always be possible to book an interpreter with short notice.
5.3 Procurement Service

The Procurement Service is responsible for overseeing the purchasing and supplying of
interpreting and translation services
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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6. PROCESS
The Trust’s preferred method of accessing an interpreter is via the telephone and should always
be the first option for any staff requiring an interpreter. The Trust does understand that in certain
circumstances a telephone interpreter is not an appropriate action and, therefore, a face-to–face
interpreter may be used. (see appendix 1)
The Trust has a service level agreement with one provider to provide face-to-face and telephone
interpreting.
Where a health care practitioner makes a clinical decision that telephone interpreting is not
adequate and that face-to-face interpreting is required, then a booking may be made via
appendix 2.
Face-to-face interpreting is the only approach available at the present time for British Sign
Language interpreting.
The telephone interpreting service can be accessed by using appendix 3.
The Trust’s corporate interpreting budget does not pay for the costs of translating written
materials into other languages. The translation of written documents can be arranged via the
Trust’s chosen interpreting service provider and funded by individual cost centres.
6.1 Protection/Safety Issues
Face-to-face interpreters as opposed to telephone interpreting are specifically to be used in the
following cases:
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There is a specific clinical reason (Senior Clinician to determine this)
The patient has mental health/psychological problems requiring support
The patient has a learning disability
The patient is a child (and is deemed to require face to face interpreting by the Consultant in
charge of care)
Child protection cases.
The appointment involves discussing prognosis or complex information which is difficult to
share.
The appointment will last more than 45 minutes.
The patient has a hearing impairment
Specific maternity cases – discussing scan results, counseling, initial discussions around
foetal medicine and counseling regarding termination of pregnancy.
Guidelines for using family members as interpreters:Please note the following:Children should not be used as interpreters:

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Their understanding and interpreting ability cannot be guaranteed
They may miss school
Parents may not feel able to speak through a child
This practice can cause long-term damage to the family relationships
Spouses/partners, relatives and friends should also not be used as interpreters:


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They may have conflicting thoughts/ideas
Confidentiality may be breached
The service user may or may not feel able to speak freely
The untrained interpreter may add or omit information
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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
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They may have difficulty with medical terminology
There may be difficulty in giving ‘bad news’
Misinformation can lead to misdiagnosis
May open the Trust to potential litigation
Guidelines for when a service user refuses an interpreter:There may be some service users who simply refuse to use an interpreter, but who may wish to
rely upon a spouse, child, family member or friend. The Trust cannot force a person to use an
accredited interpreter, however, the frontline member of staff dealing with the situation will need
to record accurately in the patient’s notes that the above risks for not using an accredited
interpreter were explained, and that the patient decision was not to follow the Trust’s
recommendations.
Guidelines for the use of family and carers as interpreters in emergency situations:In an emergency situation it may be necessary to use adult family members to help communicate
basic information about care or personal history, they should not be used to interpret clinical
information, medical terminology or to facilitate decision making about clinical care. In the event
of an emergency situation requiring interpretation relating to consent or treatment, decisions must
be made in the patient’s ‘best interests’, and should not be delayed waiting for an interpreter.
This should be fully documented in the patient notes. The telephone interpreting services is
available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and should connect you to an interpreter within 60
seconds.
6.2 Out of hours procedures
Out of hours staff should contact the telephone interpreting service direct (follow Appendix 3).
7. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
All staff are required to complete Equality and Diversity Training every three years in line with the
Essential Training Matrix. This is now available via the Trust’s on line training facilities.
If any staff member is unclear on how to follow this policy they should contact the Head of Patient
Experience.
Specific training and information regarding using interpreting services and the Trust’s chosen
service provider will be conducted upon request or as identified by the Patient Experience Team.
8. REFERENCES AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTATION
As a public sector organisation there are statutory duties that we required to be met under The
Equality Act 2010. This policy has been developed and updated in line with the NHS Equality
Delivery System.
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to ensuring that, as far as is reasonably
practicable, the way we provide services to the public and the way we treat our staff reflects their
individual needs and does not discriminate against individuals or groups on any grounds
The Equality Act 2010: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/equalities/equality-act/
The NHS Equality Delivery System: http://www.eastmidlands.nhs.uk/about-us/inclusion/eds/
Portsmouth City Council: http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ (For local population statistics)
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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9. EQUALITY IMPACT STATEMENT
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust is committed to ensuring that, as far as is reasonably
practicable, the way we provide services to the public and the way we treat our staff reflects their
individual needs and does not discriminate against individuals or groups on any grounds.
This policy has been assessed accordingly.
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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Appendix 1 – Flow chart
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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Appendix 2 – Booking a face to face interpreter
For all interpreting needs the Trust has a service level agreement with thebigword.
All booking for face-to-face interpreters should be done through their online bookings system at:https://gms1.thebigword.com
Each area/member of staff will have their own client code, user name and password to access the
booking system. There are three pages of booking information required. The patient’s hospital
number must be included in the booking.
If it is not possible to access the internet at a particular time then please call:-
Thebigword General Service Enquiries: 0800 757 3025
Please ensure that the booking details are completed accurately and that an appropriate contact
number is left for thebigword to contact should they need to (ie a phone that is going to be
answered).
If a booking for an interpreter is to be cancelled, it is the department’s responsibility to ensure that
this is done within 48 hours of the time and date of the appointment.
The Trust will not pay out of the central interpreting budget for any cancelled appointments where the
booking should have been cancelled and was not, and there will be a recharge to the department for
this.
The Trust is still billed for any cancelled appointments where the cancellation is made less than 48
hours prior to the appointment. The Trust will investigate cancelled appointments where it has to pay
and will charge back where appropriate.
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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Appendix 3 – How to use telephone interpreting
Thebigword is the sole supplier of telephone interpreting, a service which will enable you to help any
client who may have limited English language skills.
When you need an interpreter please follow the instructions below:-
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Dial 0800 757 3053 / 0800 694 5093
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Enter your access code, followed by the # key
If required, enter your PIN number, followed by the # key
Enter the language code, see below, followed by the # key
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Once connected stay on the line
Take note of the interpreter’s identity number
Direct your conversation to the client and NOT the interpreter
702
91
92
727
94
95
4
993
Farsi (Persian
French
German
Greek
733
734
735
97
Latvian
Lingala
Lithuanian
Mandarin
755
757
1
998
Slovak
Somali
Spanish
Swahili
738
994
724
995
96
3
Gujarati
Hindi
Hungarian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
533
741
796
98
5
996
Mirpuri
Nepali
Oromo
Pashto
Polish
Portuguese
762
729
992
773
764
709
Tagalog
Tamil
Thai
Tigrinya
Turkish
Twi
710
Albanian
Amharic
Arabic
Bahasa
Indonesian
Bengali
Bosnian
Bulgarian
Burmese
Cantonese
Creole
(Haitian)
Czech
520
749
Punjabi
765
Ukrainian
713
Dutch
730
750
Romanian
999
Urdu
712
Farsi
(Afgham)
731
Kurdish
(Kurmanji)
Kurdish
(Sorani)
Kurdish
(Bahdini)
997
Russian
516
Welsh
706
17
707
708
93
780
Dial 700 followed by the # key if you cannot identify the language required
Dial 0 followed by the # key for further assistance
If you have forgotten your access code or you have any questions following a call please
contact: (please ensure you have the interpreter’s ID no, time of call and language your
required)
-
Thebigword General Service Enquiries: 0800 757 3025
E-mail: tis@thebigword.com
Web: www.thebigword.com/publicsector
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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Appendix 4 – Top 10 tips for telephone interpreting
Here are 10 Top Tips for successful communication between you, the service user and the
interpreter.
Once connected:
1. Identify yourself and your purpose clearly and distinctly – speaking a little slower than usual.
2. Consider the interpreter as a human language link, facilitating communication between
languages and cultures. Make sure you direct your questions to your client, as opposed to the
interpreter.
3. Give the interpreter a brief outline of the situation.
4. Be prepared to hear accented English from some interpreters. Feel free to ask the interpreter
to repeat a response.
5. Allow the interpreter a few moments to introduce themselves to your customer.
6. Let the interpreter know the information that you wish to deliver or obtain from the limited
English speaker.
7. Understand that there may be some delay before the interpreter can elicit the information you
need from the limited English speaker due to cultural differences, or a need on the part of the
limited English speaker to establish trust.
8. Be aware of linguistic differences. Different languages often require a different number of
words.
9. Expect occasional periods of what might appear as idle chatter between the interpreter and
the limited English speaker as the communication bridge is built. Please be patient; the
interpreter will get back to you but feel free to interrupt if you believe it appropriate.
10. Request input from the interpreter as to what extraneous information the limited English
speaker is conveying.
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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Appendix 5 – Guidelines for using face-to-face interpreters
Briefing the Interpreter
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Identify the requirement of complete confidentiality.
Outline the purpose, subject, length of the interview
Identify any delicate or distressing issues that have to be covered.
For minority ethnic patients ask if there are any specific cultural factors, which may have
a direct bearing on the interview.
Arrange seating appropriately
Introduce the interpreter to the patient at the beginning of the interview
Explain the interpreter’s role
Ensure that the patient feels able to talk openly through an interpreter.
Key points when interviewing with an interpreter
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The Interpreter is there to facilitate communication NOT to act as an advocate
Ensure that the patient has no objection to the interpreter’s presence, especially during
examination
Talk directly to the patient
Keep control of the consultation
Pause frequently
Respond to non verbal cues
Check patient understanding
Make use of written materials
Keep language simple and jargon free avoid colloquialisms
Stick to one subject at a time and break what you are saying to the interpreter into
manageable chunks.
Be aware that the patient may not want the interpreter to know everything about him /her
For Sign Interpreters
Please also be aware that:


A sign language interpreter will ideally sit beside and slightly behind the person
conducting the interview so that the patient can easily see both the interviewer and the
interpreter’s hands.
It is essential that there is adequate lighting so that the interpreter is not obscured by
sitting in front of a bright window.
Please ensure that service users with face-to-face interpreters are seen on time and are not kept
unduly waiting.
Interpreting Policy: Issue 6. DATE 26/11/2013
Review Date: November 2015
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