When a patient goes to a hospital or a clinic for an appointment, there’s always uncertainty. This uncertainty is a natural thing as there can be a matter of fear. The fear gets minimized when the patient gets rid of the anxiety after discussing his condition with the medical consultant. However, if a patient is unable to communicate normally, suppose he can’t talk, there are the complexities of interacting with the consultant.
Every patient has the right to consult with the doctor properly and has the best possible treatment regardless of his natural interacting ability. That’s why sign language interpretation for hospitals is essential for patients who are deaf or have other problems hindering their communication ability.
Problems Due to Unavailability of Sign Language Interpreters
According to records and statistics, many deaf patients had complained about their sufferings due to communication problems while receiving treatments in hospitals in the U.S. There have been records of wrong or inadequate procedures in the cases of patients having natural communicating inability. It’s normal because, due to improper interaction, doctors may fail to diagnose the patients’ problems. That’s why sign language interpreters are essential for the hospitals to ensure proper treatments of all the patients.
The necessity of Qualified Sign Language Interpreter
Highly experienced sign language interpreters have specialized expertise and training. Though proficiency in sign language and English is essential, only language skills aren’t enough for a professional to work as a sign language interpreter. A skilled interpreter has a high level of technical and linguistic skills.
A qualified interpreter must have fundamental expressive and receptive interpreting skills, using any specialized vocabulary if required. Hospitals having such qualified sign language interpreters shouldn’t face any difficulty while treating deaf patients or patients unable to interact appropriately.
Use of Technology
Many hospitals try to tackle the problem of not having a sign language interpreter by implementing technology. As an example, some hospitals use video conferencing systems to communicate with patients. However, this technique has its problems. Sometimes, video conferences get affected by wrong signals, thus hampering the treatment of the patient. That’s why the use of technology hasn’t been entirely successful. However, medical experts recommend giving the ambulance staff and paramedics basic sign language training.
Improper diagnosis of diseases of the patients may bring out fatal outcomes. That’s why sign language interpretation for hospitals is essential to provide proper treatment to patients who are unable to communicate naturally.
