Sometimes you might need to quickly have a leaflet translated for someone who can’t read English. Our new standard operating procedure has been prepared to help us be more inclusive to a wider variety of non-English speaking patients and their families. Read on for the dos and don'ts on using Google Translate.

The reverse of our patient information leaflets explain to patients who fall into the top five frequently used languages how they can access translated copies of information - though we appreciate there are going to be other non-English speaking patients who do not fall into the top five lamguages.

The SOP was created following our last CQC inspection. There recommendation was: The trust should ensure there are leaflets and resources available to patients whose first language is not English. The new SOP aims to support these patients quickly with information. It would be costly to translate every leaflet we have into every language when they may never be used, so we've pulled together some guidance for using Google Translate.

This was developed in response to one of the CQC actions (SD7) for urgent and emergency care: 

It is important to note:

  • This is for people who need information quickly
  • You must ensure you include the disclaimer 
  • You should not use this process when producing written information to be stored on our Patient Leaflet repository where it may need to be translated for a specific language. For example - if your service has a high demographic of a non-English user group, then you should follow the policy to ensure a 100% accurate translation.

Before using Google Translate, take a look at our policy on providing written information for patients, as it might suit your needs. You can also find it by searching written in the Search for documents box in the library.

The new standard operating procedure can be found below or in the policies and documents library. Search translate in the Search for documents box

The Trust’s interpreting provider is The Big Word, and they have a dedicated email the to contact them on ukgov@thebigword.com               

You can see all the information on both written and verbal translations and British Sign Language on our intranet page here.

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