Hospital to test 'interpreter on wheels' to bridge language barriers

'Interpreters on Wheels' offers immediate access to live interpreters for over 170 langiages, including British Sign Language

Two hospitals are to try using a mobile translation service in a bid to remove language barriers between patients and staff.

Peterborough City and Hinchingbrooke hospitals will trial the remote interpreting service for four weeks.

The service, Interpreters on Wheels, uses iPads on trolleys and the Language Line Insight application, says Alex Papp, service coordinator for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust's linguistic and interpretation department.

Staff can get in touch with live interpreters in the UK or abroad for on-the-spot translation in "more than 170 languages, in less than 30 seconds," Mr Papp said.

As well as voice calls, the system offers video calls with interpreters for 42 of the 170 languages, including British Sign Language .

"At the moment, when it comes to interpreting, machine translations are not quite there yet, so we rely on actual qualified, experienced interpreters that have knowledge of medical terminology," Mr Papp said.

The hospitals already has access to a team of in-person interpreters, but it hopes the new system may become a permanent addition to its interpreting services.

The trial will take place in the emergency department.