Should the NHS curb spending on translation services?

doi:10.1136/bmj.39126.572431.47

BMJ 2007;334:398 (24 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39126.572431.47

Feature

Head to head

Should the NHS curb spending on translation services?

Kate Adams, general practitioner

Hackney, London N1 5DR

kateadams@doctors.org.uk

Millions of pounds are spent on NHS translation services eachyear. David Jones believes that current service provision ispatchy and more investment is needed, whereas Kate Adams arguesthat doctors should encourage patients to learn English to avoidfuture public health problems

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

On 12 December 2006, the BBC reported on the high price beingpaid for the provision of translation services. A conservativeestimate for the National Health Service alone was £55million ( ${euro}$ 82m; $107m), with the true figure likely to be muchmore, and the cost of providing such services across all publicservices was said to be rising sharply.¹ The report receivedlots of public feedback, mainly expressing concern. Ruth Kelly,the secretary of state for communities and local government,asked for a review of language services across government departments.

The complex concept of citizenship, with its emphasis on encouragingintegration, is high on the government's agenda and a vitalpart of this is language competence. People applying for UKcitizenship are now required to pass an English test.

As a general practitioner in Hackney in inner London I see manypatients whose English is either non-existent or so . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Spending on language support: Mark RD Johnson
bmj.com, 23 Feb 2007 [Full text]
Should NHS curb spending on translation service? No.: Makarand K Oak
bmj.com, 24 Feb 2007 [Full text]
...not while English classes are being cut: Philip R Matthews, et al.
bmj.com, 26 Feb 2007 [Full text]
What about the Deaf community?: Emma Stapleton
bmj.com, 26 Feb 2007 [Full text]
Can relatives help?: Rohit Lodhi
bmj.com, 26 Feb 2007 [Full text]
How about doctors learning their patient's languages: Nazzar Tellisi
bmj.com, 27 Feb 2007 [Full text]
NHS Translation Services: call for continued funding: Anandagiri M Shankar, et al.
bmj.com, 1 Mar 2007 [Full text]
Urgent need for local data to meet the translation need: Paramjit Gill, et al.
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Let's keep translation straightforward: Amber D Porter, et al.
bmj.com, 2 Mar 2007 [Full text]
Health illiteracy contributes to inequalities in health: Qaim Zaidi
bmj.com, 16 Mar 2007 [Full text]