Dr. Angela Skuce:

On the question around interpreting, there are no standards for interpreting here. We have a Romanian interpreter in the Capuchin clinic and we are hanging on to her with our fingernails because we know that she is really good. I have worked with a lot of interpreters when she goes on holidays, and other interpreters in different languages. The standard is wildly variable. I have had to ask some interpreters to leave because they were having conversations with the clients and I did not know what they are talking about. It would be really important that we have standards. Different countries have accepted standards for interpreting and methods of accreditation. It would not be difficult for Ireland to do.

Certainly, in general practice there is not nearly enough access to interpreting. We have a special funding stream for that but most of the GPs that I know do not know how to access an interpreter and do not even know that the service exists. It seems to be dependent on which part of the country one lives in. Even with the GPs who do have access, it is often difficult to access. We need a lot more interpreters. It need not be expensive. There are different models of providing interpreting that can be very cost effective. Years ago, I worked in London and there are lots of different languages spoken in the area in which I lived. The local GP practices informally divided up the populations between them. For example, three practices would do Portuguese, where those practices would have all of the Portuguese and Brazilian community and a full-time interpreter between the three practices so there an interpreter was available every day. The practice down the road might do Somali and so on. If a practice employs an interpreter on site all day, he or she can interpret for up 30 different people. I believe that it worked out at something like €5 per head. If it is being done in an ad hocway, however, through booking an interpreter for somebody for a particular appointment that can work out at €30 per head. There are lots of very established ways of providing high-quality and cost-efficient interpreting that we could just copy from other countries.