£60,000 a day lost in translation by hard-up NHS trusts

Research by think-tank 2020Health showed NHS trusts spent £23.3m on written translation and interpreters last year, an increase of 17 per cent since 2007.

The organisation claimed money could be saved by creating a central pool of pre-translated materials which all hospitals and GP surgeries could access.

Its chief executive, Julia Manning, said the costs were “staggering” at a time when the NHS needed to save £20bn by 2015.

“The most glaring problem is that NHS trusts translate their own material, rather than have access to a central pool of translated documents,” she said.

The think-tank recommended translating materials into simple English rather than other languages and providing more written translations through free web-based services.

She said: “The NHS has been told by its own patient feedback that documents in simple English – instead of medical jargon – would be acceptable to most people currently using the translation services.

“It wouldn’t take much effort to drastically cut the £23m of taxpayers’ money that is spent each year on bureaucratic and often duplicated translation fees, and free the money up for treating patients.”

The report revealed that trusts across Birmingham spent £4.9m between 2008 and 2011 on translation services, the highest spending outside London.

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust spent £3.7m over the same period.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust spent £2.4m, while Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust was the biggest spender in London, with £2m.

London trusts comprised 15 per cent of those surveyed, but were responsible for 31 per cent of total spending, the research showed.

According to the report, the cost of translating documents has fallen but there has been a rise in the cost of interpretation services within the NHS.

Not all trusts could provide details of how much such services cost them, the think-tank said.

The report also questions whether catering to non-native English speakers is helpful or “perpetuates a system in which they are ostracised from the majority of the English-speaking public”, 2020Health said.

A Department of Health spokesman said: “NHS trusts have a duty to follow equalities legislation. This includes making sure their communities can understand information about the trust’s services and that patients and clinicians can communicate with each other.

“However, we would encourage trusts to save money where possible by working together and sharing resources.”