Health care interpreters: A physiotherapy perspective

Communication is the greatest barrier in health care provision for people of non-English speaking backgrounds. The New South Wales Health Standard Procedures stipulate that the Health Care Interpreter Service must be used in consultations with clients who cannot fully comprehend English. This study explored the attitudes, thoughts, and feelings of physiotherapists toward health care interpreters and their service. Interviews and observations were conducted at three different hospitals. Six physiotherapists were interviewed in total. The results showed physiotherapists did not collaborate with health care interpreters for all consultations with clients of non-English speaking backgrounds. Physiotherapists were found to be largely negative in their attitude toward the health care interpreter service. Suspicion and distrust of interpreters, time constraints, and the perceived cost of the service were major themes identified in the interviews. Physiotherapists need to be aware that failure to collaborate with interpreters may result in litigation should there be reason to contest the validity of treatment consent or warnings given.