Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has begun using video consultation platform incorporating a live translation service.
It has taken the step to improve accessibility for non-English-speaking patients to save a projected 90% on traditional translation services.
The trust deployed Healthcare Communications’ eClinic video consultation platform in August on a pay-as-you-go basis. It uses voice recognition technology and is claimed to translate into more than 100 languages in real time through audio or text, depending on the patient’s preference.
Kettering Hospital has estimated this will save it more than £57,000 per year.
Chief nursing informatics officer Dione Rogers said: “It is so much more empowering for a patient to be at the centre of their own appointment, in control of their own health, and to be able to speak with a clinician directly. A really big issue at the trust is being tackled and I can’t wait for staff and patients to begin realising the benefits.”
Image from iStock, Fizkes
