Policy Connect recently partnered with the University of Surrey as they hosted the parliamentary launch of their Interpret-X research project into the use of interpreting services in primary care.  

Joined by a range of key stakeholders and policymakers, the roundtable featured an important discussion on the project’s key findings and the need to address inequalities in healthcare access, prioritise patient safety, and provide services that can adapt to the changing needs of local populations.  

Interpret-X, a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funded programme, explored the uptake, experience, and implementation of interpreting services in primary care among South Asian communities in England.  

With contributions by academics from the University of Surrey, Queen Mary University of London, University College London, and the University of Warwick, the research project found high levels of patients of South Asian ethnicity failing to use their GP’s professional interpreting services, and detailed a concerning lack of standardisation, fragmentation, and lower interpreting standards in the NHS. 

In a wide-ranging discussion featuring contributions from Interpret-X's investigators, participants outlined the importance of improving patient confidence in professional interpreting services by providing clear information about the availability of professional interpreters in GP surgeries.  

Focusing on the need to ensure that professional interpreting services improve patient safety, panellists called for a clearer articulation of guidance with universal standards that provide clarity on what ‘a good service looks like’.  

There was also emphasis from participants that patients will make better decisions about the healthcare they receive if provided with awareness of the difference between professional interpreters and other types of language support (e.g. family members).  

The session featured excellent contributions from: 

• Professor Katriina Whitaker and Dr Georgia Black (Interpret X investigators).  
• Professor Margaret Ikpoh, Vice-Chair for Professional Development & Standards (Royal College of General Practitioners).  
• Sharon Brennan, Director of Policy and External Affairs (National Voices).  
• Andrew Fenton, Director of Population, Health, and Inequalities (SCW).  
• Dr Janakan Crofton, Primary Care Development Lead for North East London ICB. 
• Lord James Bethell. 

Policy Connect and the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group will be conducting work on addressing health inequalities and access to primary care throughout this Parliament. For more information, please contact Jasmin Adebisi (jasmin.adebisi [at] policyconnect.org.uk (jasmin[dot]adebisi[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk)).