The partner of a service user called on Friday afternoon, Valentine`s Day, to say that her husband was in A&E and needed an interpreter. She was anxious as there had been times recently when her husband was in A&E in the early hours of the morning when no interpreter was present as SIS had not be contacted on our 24 hour emergency service. As a Coordinator I asked if I could speak with someone and she passed me on to a nurse. I reminded them of our emergency phone number and said they could call as soon as they were ready to see the patient and we would do our best to get someone to the hospital as soon as possible. We have an amazing track record of responding with an interpreter on site within an hour of receiving an emergency request.
I had another chat with the wife of the service user and assured her we would do everything we could to get someone to A&E when her husband was ready to be assessed by a medical practitioner. I then called a specific interpreter who has worked closely with the patient. The interpreter said he would be able to go at short-notice if needed.
Around 15.40 a call came in from A&E and the interpreter confirmed that he could be there at 16.15. I called A&E back to confirm the name of the attending interpreter and then called the wife to let her know he would be there in about 30 minutes. She was very grateful and reassured that her husband would have someone and that it was their preferred interpreter.
