Woman didn’t understand she had cancer because she didn’t get an interpreter – NRK Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio

– A woman who was undergoing treatment for cancer brought her husband to all the consultations. They asked for an interpreter in all meetings, but were told that it was not necessary because the man knew a little Norwegian, says patient and user representative Jannicke Bruvik.

In retrospect, it turned out that the woman did not understand that she had been diagnosed with cancer. As a result, she did not start the treatment when she was supposed to.

The patient and user ombudsman has no information about how the woman fared. Nor has NRK succeeded in finding out how it went.

The ombudsman has several stories:

• A man suffered permanent injuries to his foot because he refused an emergency operation. He did not understand what they said.
• A patient who turned up for group therapy was told that it did not fit with the arrangement to have an interpreter. Thus, he still had no offer.
• A woman in labor who had had an emergency caesarean section did not understand the information she received when she returned home. Even with frequent visits to the GP for wound care.

According to Bruvik, all the episodes are from the last two years.

Several reports show under-consumption

The leader of the Norwegian Association of Interpreters, Paulina Slusarczyk, refers to several reports from recent years that have looked at the use of interpreters in the health care system, and which have shown an underuse.

– It can lead to incorrect diagnosis, incorrect treatment and very bad experiences with the healthcare system, she says.

In addition, figures from the Directorate of Integration and Diversity, IMDI, show a high consumption of unqualified interpreters.

34 percent of interpreting assignments in the public sector were delivered by interpreters without any professional interpreting qualifications, according to IMDI’s report from 2023.

Specialist health services (27 per cent) and municipal services (34 per cent) have the highest proportion of unqualified interpreters.

What these have in common is that they are fully or partially covered by the procurement regulations. This means that the interpreting assignment must be put out to tender.

The report to IMDI ​​shows that the public bodies that are exempt from the regulations for public procurement, such as the courts and the immigration administration, use nearly 100 per cent qualified interpreters.

In addition, the interpreters they use are highly qualified.

Problem in several sectors

Equality and discrimination ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon is critical of the system as it works today.

– We receive many thousands of inquiries every year. Part of these concerns the fact that qualified interpreters are not used. Both when it concerns GPs, prisons, Nav, child welfare and schools. So this is a problem in several places, says Thon.

In 2022, a committee was appointed to review the regulations for public procurement and come up with proposals for changes.

In a consultation statement from IMDI, they propose that interpreters be included in the exemption for service contracts.

“As the use of an interpreter is required by law, and interpreting is a legally regulated profession, it is appropriate that the appointment of interpreters is exempted from the procurement regulations,” they write in a letter to the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries.

The report must be submitted to the Minister for Business and Industry in May.

Healthcare personnel’s responsibility

The Norwegian Association of Interpreters hopes for change.

– It is alarming that there should be so many interpreting assignments carried out by people who do not have qualifications. Interpreting is a profession, says manager Paulina Slusarczyk.

State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) says that health personnel have a duty to provide sound and caring help and that good information and dialogue are important in order to provide the right help and treatment to patients.

– It is health personnel who mainly have to assess whether an interpreter is necessary and it is a goal that those who need it should get a qualified interpreter, he says.