SignTranslate Hospital launches
2009-01-13
New translation program set to drive down NHS interpreting costs
According to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, health service trusts are being hit by soaring translation costs totalling GBP 50 million a year. One in six of the 200 trusts who released the data said their annual bill for interpreters had more than doubled in the last year.
SignTranslate, a company owned by SignHealth, the healthcare charity for Deaf people, is launching
The program translates pre-defined medical questions from English into twelve foreign languages including Urdu, Arabic, Bengali, and Polish. The translated questions are displayed in written and spoken format, so that the non-English speaking patient need not be literate to understand the question. The questions are also translated into British Sign Language (BSL) using short video clips. For more in-depth consultations, a Deaf person and clinician can use the SignTranslate program to access a ‘live’ fully qualified BSL interpreter via a web-cam.
SignTranslate Hospital has been developed with advice from some of the country’s leading hospitals, and was recently awarded the e-Health Insider ICT product innovation award sponsored by BT. The program provides a library of questions supporting A & E, Audiology, Maternity, and general ward care. There is also a special application for Major Incidents e.g. industrial chemical spillages or serious traffic accidents.
Phil Murden, Managing Director of SignTranslate, said: “NHS trusts have a duty to produce a race equality scheme under the Race Relations Act as well as address the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure equality of access to information and the trust’s services. Translators are a scarce resource especially BSL interpreters, which means short-notice, emergency appointments are often a problem. SignTranslate offers a quick and cost effective means of improving communication during a hospital visit, when an interpreter is not available.”
The GP version of the program, endorsed by the Department of Health, is already being used successfully by practices throughout
Visit www.signtranslate.comto see a demonstration of the programs.
Ends
Further information: Lauren Besant, Marketing Manager, SignTranslate, 01494 687632,
Notes to Editors:
1. Please note; it is the convention adopted within the Deaf community of using an upper case D when referring to those who identify themselves culturally and linguistically as members of the Deaf community. Typically they are pre lingually deaf and use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first language
2. SignHealth is the only
3. SignTranslate is wholly owned by SignHealth, the healthcare charity for Deaf people. SignTranslate provides unique web-based translation programs for use with Deaf and hard of hearing people and those with limited English. SignTranslate also offers on-line interpreting for Deaf people via a simple web-cam. All interpreters are fully qualified and registered and follow a strict code of practice.