Drennan G
Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town.
S Afr Med J. 1996 Apr;86(4):343-5.
To document interpreter utilisation at a major South African mental hospital over a 2-month period in 1993.
A survey was conducted by requesting clinicians to complete a questionnaire each time they required an interpreter.
Seven admission wards at a Western Cape mental hospital and an emergency psychiatric service at a general hospital.
Twenty-nine clinical staff members.
Number of patients requiring an interpreter, who provides interpreting services; interpreter availability; and duration of interview.
One hundred and forty-eight predominantly Xhosa-speaking patients (20-30% of admissions) required interpreting. Interpreter services were available immediately in 69% of cases. Nursing staff provide 67% of the interpreter service, while cleaning staff provide 10%. There were 93.5 documented hours of interpreting. One person employed as an interpreter in 2 wards had longer interviews on average than the other staff members. The opportunity cost of using nurses and cleaners as interpreters amounts to R1 504 for the period of the study.
Psychiatrically educated staff are clearly preferred as interpreters. A significant proportion of patients are being assessed through the use of family members, cleaners and other inappropriate people. The financial burden to the hospitals of not providing an interpreter service is small, but the impact on working conditions and service to patients is considerable.
记录1993年南非一家大型精神病院在两个月内口译员的使用情况。
通过要求临床医生每次需要口译员时填写一份问卷进行调查。
西开普省一家精神病院的七个收治病房和一家综合医院的急诊精神科服务部门。
29名临床工作人员。
需要口译员的患者数量、提供口译服务的人员、口译员的可获得性以及访谈时长。
148名主要讲科萨语的患者（占入院人数的20%-30%）需要口译。69%的情况下能立即获得口译服务。护理人员提供了67%的口译服务，而清洁人员提供了10%。有记录的口译时长为93.5小时。在两个病房担任口译员的一人平均访谈时间比其他工作人员长。在研究期间，将护士和清洁人员用作口译员的机会成本为1504兰特。
接受过精神病学教育的工作人员显然更适合担任口译员。相当一部分患者是通过家庭成员、清洁人员和其他不合适的人员进行评估的。医院不提供口译服务的经济负担较小，但对工作条件和患者服务的影响相当大。
