The largest hospital trust in Greater Manchester has slashed spending on interpreters from more than £1m to £300,000 a year.
Pennine Acute, which runs hospitals in Bury, Rochdale, North Manchester and Oldham, paid more than £1m in 2007 for translation services.
But bosses have cut the annual bill by more than 70 per cent after piloting a new phone translation service.
The massive spending reduction was revealed in a contract notice put out by the trust.
Pennine Acute is now looking for companies to bid to provide translation and interpretation services.
It is offering around £1.5m over a five-year period – which works out at £300,000 a year.
The move comes after the M.E.N reported that translation agencies were costing the trust as much as £125 an hour – with minimum call-out fees often leading to an hour’s charge for just a few minutes’ work.
But Angela Wood, the trust’s patient partnership manager, said they had managed to reduce costs by using a telephone translation scheme and building up a bank of interpreters. She said: “The trust has been using interpretation and translation services for over 10 years to ensure people whose first language is not
English and those with communication difficulties have equal access to health care services and information.
“The trust interprets into 65 languages.
“The contract tendering process ensures that the trust receives a quality service from agencies at the most competitive prices.
“We continue to look at ways to reduce costs and ensure a quality interpretation and translation service.
“This has included the development of a bank of interpreters to support our in-house service and the telephone interpreting service, currently in use in parts of the trust, which will be rolled out further this year.”
In 2008, bosses piloted a pioneering phone translation scheme at North Manchester General to try to cut the bills. Cordless phones also let the patient and clinician talk to each other through an interpreter.
According to the trust, 79 per cent of its annual expenditure on interpretation and translation services is spent on face-to face communication.
British Sign Language accounts for 20 per cent of the bill and written services make up the remaining one per cent.
Across Greater Manchester, NHS bosses are having to reduce their spending plans by almost £1bn.
The savings must be made by 2014.
Pennine Acute slashes £700,000 from translation bill
January 11, 2011
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The Soviet Republic of Bolton will translate things into all the languages of Asia and publishes leaflets in several languages on how to get benefits. People who live in England should learn English. It is a great disservice to immigrants constantly to translate everything. In particular, women should not be kept in the home and given no opportunity to learn English. Hospitals' emergencies, yes, from time to time interpreters will be needed. But if the government said that no benefits would be paid except to those who speak English, there would be a big change.
hows about people learning english? if they live here then they should understand the this is an english speaking country
Who decided to pay these agencies as much as 125 pounds an hour and way? Who was responsible for overseeing these purchasing decisions? Has an investigation been started? Were those responsible merely incapable of doing the job for which they are paid or did some of that money spent actually end up in somebody's bank account? After so much taxpayers' money has been "wasted" like this I am sure a full and comprehensive investigation will be undertaken; or perhaps it will all be brushed under the carpet. After all, who cares?
Why should we pay for translation services? If somebody comes into an NHS hospital that doesn't speak English they should either provide their own or have one provided at their own cost. Either learn English or don't expect to live here and use our services.
If we had this tough stance within many of our public services i'm sure it would be the boot up the backside that many people need to learn English properly and would save us millions.
I wonder how much medical equipment or how many hospital beds £300,000 could pay for?
What idiot signs these deals? £125 an hour is a disgusting amount to charge. I worked overseas and nothing was translated for me. I had to get things translated myself at my own cost. The same should be happening here. The NHS or any other public body should not have to translate anything! If nothing more, it would encourage people to start to learn the language.
Whats wrong with the fact that this could be paid via personal medical insurance as it would be abroad. If you don't pay into the pot why should you be in a position to take it out?
Why translate? why not tell visitors to bring a english speaking freind or relative with them before they get a Appointment.That would save all hospitals millions.
65 languages? Wow, I had no idea the region was such a Worldwide attraction. Of course, I would expect tourists using the NHS services, including the cost of a translator, to be billed appropriately, just as we are when abroad.
Or have I missed something...?
Que? No comprede
If patients live here they should learn the indigenous language, if they are visitors then they should have insurance to cover any costs incurred.
Isn’t that what English people abroad have to do?
let me tell you a story.
my dad cant speak good English so i went with him to translate for his appointment...
they said to me no you cant translate, we have to uses our own translator. so they send us a way and book a anther appointment.
know tell me if the nhs are ran by idiots.
That a bit rich! Seeing most of their customers tend to be either incoherent asylum seekers and local asian population. Surely the former Nulabor MP will put a block to this. Were will he get his votes next time. Let not forget English language is a by word for tyranny and oppression in the polish, eastern block, african, asian culture. So therefore we must bow down to oppressed sicken inhabitants. Maybe the local Trade unions and Former Nulabor MPs can join hand in hand and march on Downing St and demand the oppressed get their multi-language information back.
Shocking... Yet another reason why good use of the English language should be a pre-requisite to even being considered to pass our immigration criteria! And as for 20% of the bill being for sign language, I'm sure in 80% of health problems affecting deaf/mute people, could be communicated using a pen and paper, maybe 20 pence worth of expenditure!
It seems the tax payer is once again expected to stump up billions every year, rather than risk offending the minorities of the country!
Don't speak so loudly,I urd u first time!!
Are the translaters able to interpret Glaswegian English?
Type your comment here...good to see most people find the fact the trust (and indeed most trusts) are spending far too much on this area. It is frustrating to see (as a NHS employee) many translators attending appointments but being sent away as the patient did not show up. The trust still pays for this! If someone arrives here and cannot speak English, fair enough they may need translation help, but for someone who has lived in the UK for more than a year and still needs a translator - tough !
There should only be one language available, and that's English. If foreigners come here and can't be bothered to learn our language, why should we bother to pay for their laziness?
125 pounds per hour? Is somebody takig the Michael?
how many English speaking people living in Spain, turkey, Dubai ect speak that nation language, i bet not many.
even more can be saved. if we just had one call centre in the uk which is ran by the government and the like of NHS, UK border agency, police, council, uses that one agency. i wonder how much other government agency like the police spend as well as the uk border agency on translation bill
Take down all foreign language signage,stop offering any translation services of any kind at cost to myself and others maybe then these foreigners will then realise that speaking English is a prerequisite for living in this country only then might the penny drop.
This reads as a good news story. My challenge is why we are still spending £300,000 on transaltion services and at the same time closing A&E, Maternity services, Operations and Critical Care beds at Rochdale Infirmary? Where are the priorities?
Why do we need a translation service for our Hospitals, anyone who comes to reside in the UK should be forced to learn our language. If one moves to Spain, France, or Germany, if you do not learn the language. You would have to suffer in silence. Just to say I do not understand, because you do not speak their language, would be pointless.
Please may we have a ham and Cheese sandwich, and one coffee without sugar, and one tea with milk and Sugar
Por favor podemos nosotros tener un jamón y el sánduche de Queso, y un café sin el azúcar, y un té con la leche y Azúcar
It is not hard if needs must.
It's good to see the figure going down, we shouldn't be spending vast sums on translation services. Our NHS is there to help us get fit, and that should be it's primary concern, not translation.
Surely the idea of providing translation services in regional health care trusts is one example where facilities should be centralised in a few specialist centres. Why does every trust have to duplicate this function? We have the clinical centres of excellence which are supposed to provide expert care while saving money, so surely having specialist centres is a better way of addressing any needs of non-English speakers. Smaller trusts should not be burdened with these costs, there are better ways of doing this.
In Germany if you can`t speak German you either take a friend or you take your own translator, if they are living over hear then they have people that are helping them how else can they rent property or get around. Why should our tax money pay for it no wonder the N.H.S has no money i would like to see the total bill for all of Britain in translating cost`
Vance, Manchester.