Interpreting services in general practice in North Central London

Summary

• Although effectively promoting interpreting services via posters and leaflets is important, most people said they learned about the service through conversations with reception staff or the GP.
• There is a lack of consistency in the quality of the interpreting offered. This can lead to poorer health outcomes for service users already experiencing health inequalities. To address this there must be effective monitoring of the quality of the interpreting service. Service users and the community-based organisations that support them should play a key role in this process. This involvement needs to be appropriately resourced.
• Patients asked for an interpreting service that supports more interactions, not just the GP appointment. For example, phone-based triaging has become an important part of the booking process. Patients with a language support need cannot effectively advocate for themselves during these conversations unless interpreting is provided. This can mean that they don’t receive the appropriate level of support.
• If video interpreting is to be offered it must be with digital support so patients who are not confident going online can gain the digital skills they need to access this type of interpreting.