The NSW Health Policy and Procedure document published in 2012 incorporates policy that applies to every branch of the organization, in many cases improving or replacing outmoded directives. Interpreters for the NSW Government are utilized to create means of communication between health care professionals and those that may suffer disabilities or that do not speak fluent English (p. 1)
New points of interest include emerging NSW Legislation requiring that the public agencies have the capacity to handle deaf and non-English speaking populations. Building on that foundation, this document directs that interpreters are to be employed in every health care scenario that is in need of communication (p. 4). This second facet is required in the case of consent. It is deemed necessary that the patient must be able to credibly understand the situation before providing legal consent. Working into this same concept is the fact that adequate communication is required to provide the health professional with the correct or topical personal health information (p. 6).
This document states that the services of an interpreter are put in place to be sure that every patient, even those with disabilities or burdens, can receive professional and competent care (p. 7). This component includes the right of any patient or professional to call for an interpreter at any time. Associated services of the interpreters, as proscribed by this document, are to be available 24 hours seven days a week.
Legalities that include a prominent display of the availabilities of interpreters must be addressed; as any consent obtained without due interpretation is not considered valid or legal (p. 12). Bound by a strict code of ethics, interpreters are held to a high standard (p. 17). The position is separate from bilingual staff and provides a professional service (p. 16). The interpreter is treated as an integral part of the team with access to records (p. 15). The best results are achieved when the interpreters have prior notice and have the ability to prepare.
References
Kakakois, M. 2012. Intreprers- Standard Procedures for Working with Health Care Interpreters. NSW Health, 1 (1), pp.1-25.
