- Talk, tell, transform
- Coming together
- Working together
- Learning together
- Easy breathing
- Speaking Up
- Dignity and respect
- Getting involved in research
- Working smarter
- Why teach English?
- After the fires
- Dangling conversations
- Sheffield Carers' Voices 2
- NHS Lothian telehealth stories
- In the lead
- Stories from the National Patient Safety Agency
- Telehealth stories
- Stories of recovery from La Trobe University
- MND stories
- NHS Leeds PPI stories
- Sheffield Carers' Voices
- End of Life Care
- Stories from the University of Liverpool
- Stories from the Isle of Wight Stroke Club
- Stories from the University of Nottingham
- Stories from the University of Huddersfield
- Communities of health
- Stories from the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
- Stories from junior doctors in training
- Stories from the Saskatoon Health Region
- Arthur & Co.: Stories about living with Arthritis
- Society of the Holy Child Jesus
- Healing journeys
- Work in Progress
- Caring for vulnerable babies: the reorganisation of neonatal services in England
- Interpreting Tales
- Having a stroke: being a parent
- Stories from Connecting for Health
- Stories from the RCN quality improvement programme
- Carers' Resource, Harrogate, Craven and Airedale
- Stories from the RCN
- Reconnecting with life: stories of life after stroke
- Stories from Pilgrim Projects
- Stories from the Working in Partnership Programme (WiPP)
- Stories from NHS Tayside
- Stories from NEYNL
- Stories from the Heart Improvement Programme
- Charles Bruce's stories
- Grace and Joe Desa's stories
- Alison Ryan's stories
- David Clark's stories
- Emma Allen's stories
- Monica Clarke's stories
- Ian Kramer's stories
Interpreting Tales
These stories are part of the 'Interpreting Tales' series, which is the result of a collaboration between Cintra, INTRAN, HITS and TIP, and has been funded by the European Social Fund and EEDA.
Told by interpreters, service users and service providers, the stories are intended to highlight the need for professionally qualified interpreters where English is not the first language, in order to improve access to all public sector services, and especially to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes.
These stories do not simply demonstrate best practice – they also illustrate some of the complex and challenging issues and dilemmas faced by interpreters, service providers and service users.
No matter how experienced and mature the interpreter, an assignment may carry with it an emotional impact that is difficult to forsee.
Awareness of mental health issues must take account of the cultural, religious and cultural concepts and understandings of different communities if effective care is to be delivered.
An interpreter’s presence at a coronary procedure helps avoid misunderstanding, build trust and ease the patient’s experience – and brings an unexpected benefit for her!
A refugee’s pleas for aid go unanswered by the system. Without an interpreter, they would not even have been understood.
A patient's reticence in a consultation with a practitioner may pose an even greater barrier to effective treatment if their first language is not understood by the practitioner and an interpreter is not present.
Efficient and cost-effective care with good concordance can only be achieved through a holistic understanding of the patient’s experiences, culture and health beliefs.
Interpreters may have to face and overcome social and cultural resistance to their role but, especially in health and social care, the effort is often worth it.
Words are important. Their meanings are important. These vary from culture to culture and depend on context. It is, therefore, crucial that interpreters render the most accurate meaning rather than a literal translation.
People come to interpreting via many and varied routes with frustrations and rewards in almost equal measure. The satisfactions of the job encourage Randall to speculate about the future.
There are many media reports about the rising costs of providing interpreting services but, from an interpreter's point of view, there are other reasons for rising costs.
The boundaries of the interpreter's role can be difficult to map, especially in small communities and difficult circumstances. This story tells of three such occasions that test an interpreter's professionalism and humanity.
You are in : Patient Voices > The stories > Interpreting Tales
Copyright 2013 Pilgrim Projects Limited. Last updated: 21/05/2013.
Disclaimer and acceptable use policy
Top Back