https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyzl2k7j8go
19 October 2024
Translation tech tackles health language
barriers
A new device is helping to improve
communication between patients who do not speak English and healthcare staff in
parts of Northern Ireland.
The pocket-sized digital kit can
translate up to 108 languages through audio or text, in real time. The handheld
technology is about the size of a mobile phone and is part of a pilot project
being rolled out in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. It is currently
being used in the hospital emergency departments of Craigavon and Daisyhill, as
well as some GP practices in the trust.
Madalina Moisa is originally from
Romania and works at the front desk of Craigavon Hospital’s emergency
department. She has lived in Northern Ireland for eight years and now speaks a
number of languages, including English. She has been using the translation
device regularly. The device works by the patient speaking into a small
microphone and it relays what that person has said to the healthcare
professional in English, and back again to the patient in his or her native
language. “It has been really helpful when there is that language barrier, to
get between patients even quicker, and it takes a lot of the pressure off and
the frustration away," Madalina said.
“Being in pain or worried about your
health is hard enough, but not being able to express yourself is even harder,
so this device is making a big difference.”
Diverse population
The
Southern Trust provides services across the five council areas of Armagh,
Banbridge, Craigavon, Dungannon, and Newry and Mourne. It has one of the most
ethnically-diverse patient populations in Northern Ireland. Towns like
Dungannon and Craigavon have seen an increase in the number of families from
outside the UK in the past 20 years, largely due to increased employment in
local food processing, engineering firms and healthcare settings. “We have a
very diverse patient population, just now we had someone from Poland in the
emergency department," added Madalina. “I don’t speak Polish but the
device was able to translate in real time that they were worried about chest
pain. So it’s really valuable.” Many hospitals in Northern Ireland already
employ people to carry out interpreting services.
Stacey Hardy is the lead nurse of the
emergency department in Craigavon. She said the translation device is there to
enhance these services, not replace them. She added: “The face-to-face
translation and the phone services are very much still being used, but when
those resources are stretched, this allows us to avoid delays in emergency
care.”
BBC News NI has previously reported on
the delays and waiting times faced by emergency departments across Northern
Ireland. To date the translator device has been delivered to at least 20 GP
practices within the Craigavon area and there are plans to roll it out further
in Newry, Armagh and Dungannon in the coming weeks.
Gerard Rocks, is assistant director
for promoting wellbeing in the Southern Trust.
He said: “It’s the first time this
device has been used in health and social care settings, but it’s our ambition
that eventually it will be used across Northern Ireland.
“We have an increasingly diverse
population and we need to provide services for our patients regardless of their
ethnicity, cultural background or their language.”
Madalina Moisa believes initiatives
like the translation device are a positive step in the health service to assist
ethnic minorities, particularly following scenes of racist violence during the
summer. “It’s not going to change things overnight, but it shows people, that
wherever you are from, there are efforts being made to try understand people
and give them as much help as possible.”
