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The death of healthcare interpreting in the Netherlands

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Jeff Whittaker
Jeff Whittaker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 00:49
Spanish to English
+ ...
Great News! Oct 15, 2013

Unfortunately, this will never happen in the U.S.
 
Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:49
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Hm? Oct 15, 2013

I can only hope you misunderstood the article, Jeff! Or are you joking?
 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 06:49
Italian to English
The usual story... Oct 15, 2013

... when money gets tight, it is the poorer and more marginal sections of society who suffer. You would imagine most middle class citizens either speak Dutch or can afford to pay for an interpreter. Sad news indeed.
 
Tatty
Tatty  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not so strange Oct 16, 2013

I don't know about any other countries, but I don't believe that Spain lays on interpreters either. There are signs up in doctors' surgeries where expats tend to live that if you do not understand Spanish you must be accompanied by a friend or relative who does or hire the services of an interpreter.

If you move to another country, surely you are expected to speak a little of the local lingo...
 
Marie-Helene Dubois
Marie-Helene Dubois  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:49
Member (2011)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Whilst I agree in principle Oct 16, 2013

Tatty wrote:

I don't know about any other countries, but I don't believe that Spain lays on interpreters either. There are signs up in doctors' surgeries where expats tend to live that if you do not understand Spanish you must be accompanied by a friend or relative who does or hire the services of an interpreter.

If you move to another country, surely you are expected to speak a little of the local lingo...


because it really is a shame when people move to a country and don't learn to communicate in the local language, I do think that there is a difference between being able to say "hola" to your neighbour and having to go to a doctor (which is worrying enough as it is) and being forced to explain your worries/symptoms in a language you have not yet mastered. It's hard enough as it is to understand doctors in your own language, let alone that of another country.

Equally, I think that sometimes people forget that some people do not move to another country out of choice. Think asylum-seekers and people who have risked their lives to go somewhere else on a boat in search of better living conditions.

The people who have moved out of choice probably have the resources to pay for an interpreter to accompany them to the doctor. It is for the people who haven't that it is important that governments provide this.

The same goes for people who are arrested or have to go to court. These people cannot possibly be accurately represented or fight for their rights without access to an interpreter or someone who speaks their language.

As Fiona mentioned, it is the more disadvantaged members of society who stand to lose the most from measures like this.

To me, a government that doesn't provide this service risks violating human rights and doesn't deserve to present itself as the government of an enlightened democratic nation.

I think it's shocking that human rights are continually being eroded on account of money while the fat cats and their cronies who espouse these ideas continue to line their pockets with money they couldn't even spend in a human lifetime.

[Edited at 2013-10-16 11:18 GMT]
 


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The death of healthcare interpreting in the Netherlands







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