02.02.12
£23m annual spend on translation for NHS
The NHS spends £23m a year on translation, a 17% increase since 2007, according to research by the think tank 2020health. To reduce this cost, 2020health recommends that hospitals and GPs should pool their resources.
Research found that some trusts translate material into 120 languages. London trusts comprised 15% of the trusts surveyed, but were responsible for 31% of the total spend. Outside London, trusts in Birmingham spent the most on services between 2008/09 and 2010/11, at a cost of £4.9m.
The cost of translating documents has fallen in recent years, but the cost of translation services has risen. 2020 Health calls for a central library to be created containing translated material for trusts to use, and an increased use of free web-based services, such as Google Translate.
Julia Manning, chief executive of 2020health and a member of NHE’s editorial board, said: “The costs involved are truly staggering in an age of austerity, and incredible when taken in the context of efficiency savings of £20bn across the health service.
“Urgent action must be taken by trusts to stem the flow of translation costs, and our report sets out a number of recommendations that would do exactly that without altering the level of care given.
“It wouldn’t take much effort to drastically cut the £23m of taxpayers’ money that is spent each year on bureaucratic and often duplicated translation fees, and free the money up for treating patients.”
The think tank also suggests that documents should be written in simple English instead of medical jargon, and that providing so many translations could serve to encourage segregation for patients. Manning suggested the approach of creating multiple translations “perpetuates a system in which they are ostracised from the majority of the English-speaking public”.
For more information, visit www.2020health.org/2020health/Publication/Professional-Development/Translation-Services
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