Translation and interpreting companies
Interpretation
An Interpreter is a person who speaks more than one language and can assist communication with patients/service users. Where appropriate, the health service can provide an Interpreter for those who can't speak English. There is no centrally held budget for this; each service area that arranges the interpretation service pays i.e. each hospital or health clinic pays for their own Interpretation costs.
Using an Interpreter
If you are planning to use the services of an Interpreter, please read through On Speaking Terms: Good Practice Guidelines for Staff in the Provision of Interpreting Services.
- HSE National Standard Operating Procedure for Accessing Interpretation Services (excluding Irish Language Services)
- Poster for services to display in healthcare settings. The languages are English, Irish, Albanian, Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese Mandarin, Czech, Farsi, French, Georgian, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu.
- Translations of health resources
- The Emergency Multi-Lingual Aid helps health staff to communicate more effectively with patients who do not speak English. The aid includes visual cues and language identification card to assist in assessments. It is intended for use prior to asking for the services of an interpreter or while waiting for the interpreter to arrive.
Translating material
If you are planning to translate some material, please read through
This is also available as an app. The app is available free of charge from Google Play.
Additionally there is a HSE guide to translating information materials into different languages.