Is it an emergency?NHS England have procured interpreting and translation services for the East of England. These services are open to all Primary Care contractor groups (Dentists, GPs, Optometrists and Pharmacies) in Suffolk and north east Essex.
The providers
- DA Languages for spoken languages
- Language Empire for non-spoken languages
Services available
| Service | Provider: DA Languages – Spoken Languages | Provider: Non-Spoken Languages – Language Empire |
|---|---|---|
| Interpreting | Multi-lingual Telephone, Spoken Video and Spoken Face to Face (Simultaneous, Consecutive and Whispering) | British Sign Language (BSL), Irish Sign Language (ISL), Foreign Sign Language, Deafblind Interpreters, Video Relay Interpreting Services, Cued Speech/Makaton, Deaf Relay (Intralingual language modification), Lip speakers |
| Transcription | Medical records | Speech-to-text reporting (Palantypist) and Electronic and manual note takers |
| Translation | Written, Audio/Video recordings to written text, EasyRead, Pictorial English | Audio/Video recordings to written text, BSL (Written Text into Video), BSL In-Vision Translations, Braille, Subtitles, EasyRead and Pictorial English |
Availability of services
| Type of service | Spoken | Non-spoken |
|---|---|---|
| Face to face | Between 08:00hrs and 18:00hrs Monday to Friday of each week and on Bank Holidays and weekends. (An additional out of hours’ facility shall be made available between 18:00hrs and 08:00hrs which will include access to GP Improved Access services and Extended Hours services, and other NHS commissioned primary care services outside of core services. | Between 08:00hrs and 18:00hrs Monday to Friday of each week and on Bank Holidays and weekends. An additional out of hours’ facility shall be made available between 18:00hrs and 08:00hrs which will include access to GP Improved Access services and Extended Hours services, and other NHS commissioned primary care services outside of core services. |
| Telephone and video interpretation | 24 hours a day, 365 days a year | 24 hours a day, 365 days a year |
These services are for appointments where NHS treatment is provided and should not be used for private appointments.
These services have been commissioned to support the Accessible Information Standard (2016) which aims to ensure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss are provided with information that they can easily read or understand with support, to enhance communication with services.
All organisations that provide NHS care or adult social care are required to follow the Accessible Information Standard, including primary care practices. To meet the Accessible Information Standard, primary care organisations are required do five things:
- Ask people if they have any information or communication needs, and find out how to meet their needs.
- Record those needs clearly.
- Highlight or ‘flag’ the person’s file or notes so it is clear that they have information or communication needs and how those needs should be met.
- Share information about people’s information and communication needs with other providers of NHS and adult social care, when they have consent or permission to do so.
- Take steps to ensure that people receive information which they can access and understand, and receive communication support if they need it.
Both DA Languages and Language Empire are working closely with NHSE&I to ensure a smooth implementation of services which will support practices in meeting their obligations under the Accessible Information Standard from the 1 November 2021.
In order to support implementation DA Languages and Language Empire will be making contact with you to ensure you are able to book services for patients and have access to the training information available. These communications (to include instructions on how to set up your account, access services and use the booking portals) will be sent over the next few weeks, either by the providers directly or via the Primary Care Gateway. Please read all instructions carefully and should you have any queries, please contact DA Languages Ltd implementations@dalanguages.co.uk and/or Language Empire contract.management@empire-groupuk.com.
The email addresses that both DA Languages and Language Empire will use to set up your new accounts / communicate with you, will be those to which this Gateway message has been sent.
If you would prefer a different email address is used, please send details (along with the name and address of your practice) as soon as possible to both:
DA Languages implementations@dalanguages.co.uk; and Language Empire contract.management@empire-groupuk.com