The number of interpreting appointments being made by patients at the Northern Hospital has been reduced as part of cost-saving measures by the Baillieu Government, according to Shadow Minister for Seniors and Ageing, Jenny Mikakos.
Protesting alongside the local Member for Thomastown, Bronwyn Halfpenny and Member for Mill Park, Lily D’Ambrosio, as well as a group of concerned local residents at the Northern Hospital, Ms Mikakos said that the cuts had angered the elderly migrant community in Melbourne’s north. “It is simply outrageous that people are being forced to rely on family members to translate for them in sensitive matters.
“In such a culturally diverse area, it is quite clearly elderly migrants will be the ones most affected by this decision as they rely heavily on interpreters to communicate effectively with their doctors,” Ms Mikakos said.
Up to one in five patients at the Northern Hospital requires an interpreter. Due to cost-saving measures, Northern Health want to cut approximately 7,000 interpreting appointments over the next year, equating to 16 per cent of its total 43,202 interpreter requests in 2011. Ms Mikakos said cutting interpreter services will ultimately lead to medical errors and increased costs to the health service.
“Without professional interpreters, patients will experience a reduced quality of care, compromised access to health care, unnecessary stress on families and an increase in litigation due to potential errors and misdiagnosis,” Ms Mikakos said.
President of the Northern Federation of Ethnic Senior Citizens Clubs and the Reservoir Greek Elderly Citizens Club, John Nicolaou said that many seniors were concerned about what these cuts will mean for them. “Our members are expressing concern about how they will be able to make informed decisions about their medical care if they cannot communicate directly with their doctor,” Mr Nicolaou said.
Ms Mikakos said there is a clear pattern of neglect from the Baillieu Government for people from disadvantaged backgrounds including migrants and our elderly. “If the Government were serious about helping seniors they would not have made such an extremely short-sighted decision, particularly in such a culturally diverse area of Melbourne.”