Healing Process policy suite

English as an Additional Language, Translation and Interpreting Policy

1. Purpose

To ensure that people who do not use English confidently can understand essential information, communicate concerns and participate in decisions without unsafe reliance on relatives or unverified machine translation.

2. Scope and status

This policy covers public information, enrolment, consent, image-capture instructions, messages, alerts, appointments, support and provider operation. British Sign Language and disability-related communication needs are also addressed through the Accessibility and Accessible Information Policy.

Core supplier and product policy

3. Policy principles

• Language difficulty must not be mistaken for lack of capacity, non-compliance or low intelligence.
• Safety-critical and consent communication requires an appropriate level of accuracy, confidentiality and independence.
• Professional interpreting or approved translation is the default for material clinical communication where language support is needed; children should not be used as interpreters except in an immediate emergency where no safe alternative exists.
• Automated translation may assist navigation or draft understanding only where risk-assessed. It must not be the sole route for urgent advice, consent, diagnosis, treatment or safeguarding communication.

4. Mandatory requirements

• Ask and record preferred spoken and written language, literacy considerations, dialect where relevant, and the need for an interpreter or translated format.
• Flag the need so that it is visible to authorised staff at each relevant contact and review it when circumstances change.
• Commission interpreters and translations through provider-approved services with confidentiality, competence and quality controls.
• Translate high-use essential information based on population need and provide a rapid route to other languages.
• Use plain English source text, controlled terminology and versioning so translations can be maintained accurately.
• Display translated urgent-help boundaries and make clear when a message has been machine translated or awaits human interpretation.
• Provide staff with a simple process to book an interpreter, record interpreter identity/reference and document communication outcome.
• Do not ask a family member to interpret sensitive, safeguarding or consent discussions merely for convenience. A competent adult chosen by the person may support communication where clinically appropriate and the risks are explained.

5. Procedure and escalation

• At registration, the need is identified, recorded and flagged. The user is offered the available supported route rather than being excluded from the service.
• For a significant message in an unsupported language, staff use the approved interpreting route, apply urgent escalation if meaning cannot be established safely and document any delay or workaround.
• Translations are approved, dated, version-controlled and reviewed when the English source changes. Superseded versions are withdrawn.
• Any translation error with actual or potential harm is reported as a patient-safety incident and corrected across all affected materials.

6. Roles and responsibilities

Provider service owner

commissions language support and ensures operating procedures and capacity.

Accessibility/Equality Lead

assesses population need, quality and equitable access.

Content owner

maintains plain source text and translation version control.

Clinical staff

book appropriate support and confirm understanding using a suitable method.

Product team

stores preferences, flags needs and prevents unsafe silent machine translation.

7. Records, confidentiality and retention

Keep language-preference records, interpreter bookings, translated-content register, approvals, source/translation versions, complaints, errors, incidents and corrective actions.

Records created under this policy must be accurate, attributable, access-controlled and linked to the applicable retention schedule. Where a provider is the controller or authoritative record holder, its documented instructions and legal duties apply.

8. Monitoring, assurance and review

Review annually and after changes to population, service, language supplier or material guidance. Monitor interpreter fulfilment, delays, translation defects, completion and outcomes by language group where lawful and proportionate.

Material non-compliance is reported through the relevant clinical-safety, patient-safety, data, security, safeguarding, HR, contractual or whistleblowing route. Corrective actions receive an owner, target date and effectiveness check.

9. Training and communication

The policy owner identifies which roles require awareness, operational or specialist training. Training is accessible, version-controlled, role-specific and refreshed after material change or evidence that understanding is inadequate. Providers communicate local procedures and contact routes before users are granted access.

10. Related documents

• Accessibility and Accessible Information Policy
• Consent, Capacity, Carer and Proxy Access Policy
• Patient Safety Incident Policy

11. Approval record