Sands & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit: Saving Babies’ Lives 2025

Sands & Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit has recently highlighted critical gaps in interpreting and translation services within maternity and neonatal care, raising concerns about patient safety, informed consent, and health equity for non-English speaking mothers and birthing people.

Key Issues Unveiled by the Report

The report identifies significant shortcomings in current practices, which include:

Inconsistent Use of Professional Interpreters: Despite clear guidelines, healthcare professionals frequently rely on family members or untrained staff to interpret, compromising patient confidentiality, clinical accuracy, and informed decision-making.

Poor Documentation of Language Needs: Many maternity services lack robust methods for documenting language requirements, resulting in unmet interpreting needs during crucial moments of care.

Variable Quality of Interpretation: Substandard interpreting services often lead to misunderstandings and potential clinical errors, negatively impacting patient experiences and outcomes.

Insufficient Appointment Flexibility: Standard maternity appointments typically fail to provide the additional time necessary for effective interpretation, limiting patients’ ability to participate fully in their own care.

Real-Life Impacts on Patient Outcomes

The consequences of inadequate interpreting services are serious, with the report linking communication failures directly to increased maternal mortality, neonatal injury, and compromised informed consent. Non-English-speaking patients are particularly vulnerable to receiving incomplete or incorrect information, impacting their ability to make empowered and informed choices.

Recommendations for Better Care

To address these systemic issues, the report proposes several key actions:

-Implementing a consistent, standardized definition for identifying patients who require language support.

-Creating national guidelines outlining interpreter qualifications and training standards.

-Enhancing data collection methods to accurately track interpreting needs across maternity services.

-Considering the establishment of a national interpreting framework to ensure equitable access, particularly for rural and emergency healthcare scenarios.