A Quality Service

• A quality service is one that is "meeting the needs and expectations of clients." Juran

• Agencies and service users consulted during this study have defined ‘quality’ in their terms:

5.1.1 Quality interpretation from a service user perspective

• Minority ethnic community users of Walsall Council services, consulted

during the term of this study have suggested the following essential requirements of any high quality interpretation and translation and human aids to communication and transcription service. A high quality service should:

1) Use properly trained and experienced interpreters

2) Select appropriate interpreters according to language/dialect, gender

3) Be able to provide interpreters with specific specialisms, e.g. knowledge of Social Work issues, including assessment processes, mental health issues and fostering and adoption services

4) Be cost effective

5) React swiftly, be reliable and punctual 6) Be available 24/7

7) Be confidential and objective 8) Be available on demand 9) Be accurate

10) Be evaluated and monitored regularly

11) Consult with service users re quality and development

• From a disability perspective, agencies and individuals consulted,

identified aspects of quality are listed below:

1. Frontline staff are deaf aware.

2. Appropriate means of communication are available.

3. The attitude of staff is very important. They must be patient. Any hint of anger/frustration and the deaf person is likely to leave and make a complaint.

4. Full access to information is needed, how to produce information for deaf and hard of hearing people.

5. BSL qualifications – it is inappropriate to use staff to interpret, apart from initial greetings, find out what they want etc. BSL Level 2 is not enough to act as an interpreter.

6. It is important for Walsall Council to develop a communication mechanism with members of Walsall’s Deaf Community, to identify best ways to communicate.

7. It is important to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) – “DDA Guide for Service Providers”

8. Essential is Disability Awareness Training, helping staff feel confident about welcoming people with various disabilities. 9. It is important to develop links with local organisations who can

advise about service delivery and quality.

• EITI, a telephone interpretation service, surveyed 140 of its clients on quality issues. 60% rated quality assurance and reliability as the most important quality factor. 21% rated cost/best value as most important and 19% ease of access and reliability.

5.1.2 Use/non use of family members and in-house staff as interpreters

• Many providers of services are at a loss when faced with clients who are unable to speak English. The most common response in situations where an interpreter is needed is to:

1) Ask a family member, frequently a child

2) Cast around for a staff member who may speak the same language

• These solutions are inappropriate, can be dangerous and should not be used. Indeed, in some cases, where abuse or coercion is suspected, for example, the professional worker may feel it is in the client’s best interests, and, therefore, his/her professional responsibility to insist on using an independent trained interpreter, even when the client has expressed a preference for using a friend or family member. There are many issues that a client may be unwilling or unable to disclose in front of a friend, partner or family member. In such cases, it will be

necessary to ask the friend or family member to wait outside.

• The use of family members, friends etc. and bi lingual members of staff are also inappropriate, because:

1. Interpreting is a skill, which needs to be learned and developed; people who speak more than one language do not automatically have this skill;

2. The level of proficiency in English of the person interpreting may not be much better than the client’s;

3. Where use of bi lingual staff members is concerned, staff

members may not have sufficient depth of community language skills to interpret beyond the superficial;

4. Accurate communication is not guaranteed; 5. Confidentiality is compromised;

6. Children do not usually have the necessary vocabulary or understanding of the relevant concepts and are likely to be out

of their depth and unable to transmit information fully or correctly;

7. It could be embarrassing, even traumatic, for family members, especially parents and children to share personal details;

8. It is undermining of normal power dynamics between parent and child, creating dependency of parents on children, rather than vice versa;

9. Relatives may have their own agenda in relation to the client, which could interfere with accurate information transfer;

10. Using bilingual staff to interpret means that they cannot get on with the job they were employed to do; this can lead to

resentment and pressure in all directions and a conflict of interest;

11. It is wasteful of time and resources making ad hoc

arrangements, as particular needs arise, rather than setting up a system that anticipates need and meets demand consistently.

NB. Perfectly acceptable is a family member/friend accompanying a client to a meeting, the way any person would support a family member, and introducing the client and making the initial link, but not acting as an interpreter. Similarly acceptable would be a bi lingual receptionist welcoming etc. the client in a community language, including BSL, but not continuing to interpret for the client.

Adult family members and friends should only be used where the customer makes this preference, after being offered the option of professional interpreting support

5.1.3 Benefits of using a professional interpreter

1) Effective communication – professional interpreters are trained

in interpreting techniques, managing three – way communication and the interview process

2) Accurate communication – Interpreters are trained in specialist

terminology and understand the agencies they work in.

3) Confidence and trust – interpreters are bound by a code of

practice that ensures confidentiality, impartiality and the maintenance of professional boundaries.

4) User empowerment – clients get more complete information,

including an insight into how the system works and are, therefore, more efficient users of services, including using appointment systems appropriately and defaulting less.

5) Active participation – service users are better able to make

informed choices and, therefore, take more responsibility for their own care, learning, health, medication, environment etc.

6) Culturally sensitive services – interpreters can be a useful

source of cultural background information. As well as facilitating service delivery to individual clients, this feedback can be used to influence overall service planning and provision.

7) Quality – service delivery is more appropriate, equitable and effective.

8) Efficiency and cost effectiveness – staff and services will not be

used inappropriately and wastefully.

5.1.3 Quality Translation

• Many organisations think that the first sign of a good equalities policy is the volume of material translated. Scarce resources are often wasted on translated material that is not effective. Simply translating more information is not necessarily the answer. Written information may not always be the best way of reaching the target audience. For example:

1. It is not always the most effective way of engaging people’s attention

2. It may not reach those who are unfamiliar with the structures and services that exist in the host community

3. Literacy levels in some communities are low, e.g., Mirpuris and Sylhetis, and,

4. The written word is often not accessible to sign language users.

• By building up a detailed profile of the linguistic needs of local communities, and by consulting closely with them it should be possible to produce materials that are relevant, appropriate and accessible to the widest possible

• Research has shown that audio or videotapes are a popular choice amongst minority ethnic groups for conveying health promotion messages (The Health Education Authority’s Expert Working Group, 1998).

• The translation of lengthy documents, such as annual reports and strategic plans, into community languages, is likely to be a costly and wasteful exercise. Users from minority ethnic communities may be more effectively reached through alternative methods, such as user groups, or consultation forums, in community settings, such as mosques, temples, etc., and community centres, or through use of tapes and videos, local radio stations.

• Members of a focus group with Walsall minority ethnic communities, to discuss issues around the establishment of an interpreting and translation service, were of the view that:

“Oral Interpretation is more important than producing lots of translated literature. There is a link to awareness of services, as many people are not aware of services. This needs to be done verbally, and by council officers going out and speaking to community groups, in community settings, with interpreters, if necessary”.

“The issue of literacy is significant in BME groups (people being unable to read and/or write in any language), so it is important to use other methods, for example, tapes, talking books or visual aids, as well as interpreters”.

“When translations are done, they need to be done correctly to convey the context of the language, i.e., not a word for word translation. Very often translators are academic types who produce academic type translations”.

5.2 Quality Control

5.2.1 Monitoring

• The issue of the need for and importance of monitoring and quality control is illustrated by a current review of Walsall Council’s Sign Language Interpreting Service, which found that the use of freelance BSL interpreters was the norm in Walsall. The use of freelance BSL interpreters puts users at greater risk of not knowing what quality of service will be provided by the freelance interpreter. “It is likely that users will experience variations in standards in using freelance interpreters as well as variations in paying the interpreters’ fees. In short, there is no established monitoring of the quality and consistency of freelance interpreters’ services. This would only be possible if they came through a single interpreting service” (Walsall Social Care and Supported Housing Sign Language Interpreting Service Review 2005)

• Monitoring is essential, particularly in the current climate of contracts, service level agreements and output targets. It is also necessary if services are to be responsive to changing needs and if a case needs to be made for increased resources or staff. It will also show up who is using the service and identify gaps in take up.

• Basic statistics can be compiled from the daily log and more detailed information can be collated from booking forms and client record sheets. Booking forms should contain such basic information as:

1. The clients language and gender 2. Formats required

5.2.2 Best Practice Checklist

• The following checklist is designed to assist Walsall Council in

developing policies, structures, practices and procedures that support the corporate provision of interpretation and translation and human aids to communication and transcription services: