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Friday, October 14, 2011

A Tale of Interpretation and Costs


What happens when a hospital misuses its translations services? One hospital found out the hard way in the form of a bill that jumped by 80% in just a year.

According to numbers from the Freedom of Information Act, Ispwich Hospital paid out a whopping £27,000 pounds— up from £15,000 pounds last year.

“It would appear from various reports coming out of Ipswich Hospital that there are problems with how management are coping with things like this and managing their sums,” explained Prue Rush, a Suffolk health campaigner.

“We looked at where the demand was increasing and looked at whether we could provide the service in a different way,” responded a spokeswoman for Ispwich Hospital.

The spokeswoman said the hospital commenced a review after discovering the rise in costs. The hospital had to ensure the “correct translation service” was used for the “correct situation” even though not all of its services were used in the “right way,” she continued.

“I think we have seen many more patients more quickly, and inevitably that means an increase in demand,” the spokeswoman finished.

Although the crux of Ispwich Hospital’s woes consists of bad accounting and not from interpretation services, the moral of the story is that regardless of costs communication services remain vital in the medical industry.

“It’s vitally important that when a patient is talking to a doctor or vice versa there is a clear understanding of what’s being said,” said Rush.

*Source: EADT24

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