Freedom of Information Request: 0922 2020/21

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  

For the financial years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20, please provide the following information:

• How much your trust has spent on translation/interpreter services (on both telephone and face-to-face and including British Sign Language)?

We don’t hold this information for 2015-16

2016-17 – £714,000

2017-18 – £841,000

2018-19 – £836,000 

2019-20 – £1,081,000

• How much your trust has spent on the translation of written information for patients or carers?

We do not record spend to this detail

• How much your trust has spent on the employment of translators/interpreters, and which languages these employees covered?

We do not record spend to this detail but the languages covered are:

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB); Urdu Punjabi Mirpuri

HGS (Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull Hospitals); Urdu Punjabi Mirpuri Hindi Kashmiri

• How much your trust has spent on employing advocates for non-English speakers?

We do not record spend to this detail.

• What was the average waiting time for a consultation with an interpreter after initial request for interpreter services (for both telephone and face-to-face appointments)?

QEHB:

2015-16 face to face – 24 hours’ notice needed. Urgent requests vary due the requested language. No telephone service available

2016 – 17 as above

2017 – 18 as above

2018 – 19 as above

2019-20 Telephone service available – depending on the requested language 5 minute average. Rare languages have to be pre booked. Face to face interpreting has been extremely limited due to Covid-19

HGS we are unable to provide this information for 2016 – 2019 but 2019 – 2020 will be the same as QEHB

• Which company does the trust use for interpretation services?

All sites use Word 360