We are committed to providing equal access to our services for all our patients/visitors. We place a high value on the respect and dignity of individuals and recognise the social and cultural diversity of the communities we serve.
As part of our commitment to ensuring equal access to our services, the Trust offers a professional interpreting service for our patients. The service is provided by a team of interpreters based in the Equality & Diversity department at Heartlands hospital.
The service is available from
Monday to Thursday – 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and Friday – 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
The interpreting team provide the following services:
- face to face interpreting in Mirpuri, Punjabi, Urdu, Sylheti and Bengali languages
- written translation of patient information in Urdu and Bengali languages
- basic Urdu language awareness session for staff
- when requested, arrange a full range of interpreting services including British Sign Language for patients (for planned intervention only, requires 24 hours notice).
In addition to this, the Trust also uses a 24/7 telephone interpreting service provided by Language Line in 150 languages. This service is currently provided in the folowing areas:
- A&E department at Heartlands & Solihull hospitals
- Obstetric & Gynaecology at Heartlands
- Infectious Diseases departments at Heartlands hospital
Interpreting Service Policy 2011.pdf
This policy applies to all staff and all Trust services. It provides details of how the interpreting and translation services can be accessed, and includes best practice guidance for staff in working with an interpreter.
If you want to access the above services please speak to a member of the interpreting team:
Telephone : 0121-424-1331 ( ext: 41331 for internal users)
0121-424-1319 (ext: 41319 for internal users)
Page : 2278, 2656.