Interpreting Provision
The clinical team looking after you is responsible for making sure that you have an interpreter if you need one during your appointments or hospital stays. Interpreters are provided by specialist interpreting companies. You are welcome to contact the clinical team before your appointment to ensure that they are aware of your communication needs.
Spoken Language Interpreters
If it is clinically necessary for you to have a face to face (in person) interpreter, this will be booked for you before you come to hospital. We will try to make sure that a face to face interpreter is present to support you during your appointment(s).
On occasions when there is no face to face interpreter available, your clinical team can provide you with an interpreter using video or audio (screen with sound only) interpreting. If you are offered video interpreting, privacy settings are available on the system, so that if you request it, the interpreter will not see you during the consultation.
Video and audio interpreting can be provided using iPads, an iPad on wheels, laptops or desktop computers.
Telephone interpreting is widely used across the Trust and can be used to contact you when you are at home and to support you during your appointments and at other times. Telephone interpreting is provided through smartphones or through desktop phones with speakers or dual handsets.
British Sign Language and DeafBlind Guides
If you need a BSL interpreter or DeafBlind Communicator Guide to support you, it is always appropriate for this to be provided to you face to face (in person). The team looking after you will arrange this for you through the Trust’s approved provider wherever possible.
Where a BSL face to face interpreter is not available, teams may use SignLive to support you to access a BSL interpreter using a video link.
If you attend hospital urgently, unexpectedly or out of hours, we can use SignLive video interpreting to communicate with you. If appropriate, the team will book a face to face BSL interpreter and use SignLive until the interpreter arrives at the hospital.
Using friends or family to Interpret
For several reasons, the Trust does not encourage using friends or family members to interpret for you during your consultation. We use professional Trust approved interpreters because:
- You could be embarrassed talking about your condition in front of friends and family
- You may not want to provide information to staff if your family or friends are listening
- It is important the information you receive is accurate so that you can fully consent to your care and treatment
- Your family member or friend:
- May not give you information if they feel it could be upsetting for you
- Friends and family could become upset by the conversation
- They may be embarrassed to interpret some words
- They may not be able to interpret medical words, conditions or treatment.
The exception to this would be if your carer is also routinely your interpreter. You are welcome to get in touch with the hospital to let us know if this is the case.
Getting in touch with the Trust using BSL
You can contact the Trust using SignLive on your smartphone. Search Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in the directory of organisations.
There is a video on the Trust’s website (find it under ‘Contact’, or here) explaining how to do this in BSL.
You can contact us to re-arrange an appointment, discuss arrangements for interpreting support or anything else that is important to you.
If you do not have access to SignLive, you can ask the Leeds Society for Deaf & Blind People to contact us about your query or concern, on your behalf.
Further information regarding the Interpreting Service can be found on the Leeds Hospitals website here.
Please contact your clinical team with any queries regarding the Interpreting Service, or to discuss your needs.