Committee for Language Access of Health Care in Israel
BACKGROUND
The Patients' Rights Law (1996) stipulates that patients must receive all information about their diagnosis, the nature of the proposed treatment, and its associated prospects and risks. Compliance with the law requires adequate communication between the parties.
In practice, despite the presence of many linguistic minorities in Israel, hospitals do not have a formal system of interpreters. When medical service-providers (physicians, paramedics, etc.) and patients do not speak the same language, they are forced to rely on ad hoc solutions: family members, other members of the hospital staff, and sometimes even bystanders. The problematic nature of this situation is illustrated by a recent ruling in which the court ordered Poriya Hospital to pay damages to an Arab-speaking couple who had lost their fetus because they did not understand the instructions for dealing with the pregnancy.
In Israel today there is no legislation that regulates language access to health services, nor is there any organization that specializes in this field and or works to promote it.
The Committee for Language Access, which began operation in 2006, aims to reduce the inequality in medical treatment caused by linguistic and cultural gulfs.
The committee's main strategies are as follows:
1. Advocacy. Establishing a Language/Cultural Access Forum that will advocate for the passage of legislation to guarantee language access in the health services;
2. Community action. Raising awareness of the issue among communities that need language access and training volunteers from such communities to serve as interpreters;
3. Institutional - Helping healthcare institutions develop language-access awareness and services.
At present, the committee is not registered as an independent amuta and has no paid employees. Most of its work is done by its founder and volunteer partners from academia and healthcare system. The committee is applying to NIF for a grant to cover the salary of a coordinator for the Language-Access Forum.
ACTIVITIES IN 2006/07
The following activities serve as milestones on the Committee's establishment:
- A two-day conference, "Mind the Language Gap? Access to Health Care for Language Minorities," was held at Bar Ilan University in May 2006 by Prof. Miriam Shlesinger, and Michal Schuster [the founder]. It was attended by approximately 300 healthcare professionals, immigrant organizations, scholars, and interpreters, as well as two guest lecturers from abroad. A website was set up after the conference to serve as a knowledge base on language and cultural access issues, in Israel and abroad (www.a2hc.org ).
- Trainings: [performed by Prof. Miram Shlesinger and the Committee's founder
- In cooperation with Tene Bri'ut, an association for the promotion of health for Ethiopian-Israelis, 18 healthcare workers were trained to serve as Hebrew/Amharic medical interpreters. The interpreting services are available in several community clinics since May 2007.
- At the request of Ministry of Health and with funding from it, 30 cultural mediators and case-coordinators were trained in medical interpreting skills.
- A introductory course for community interpreting was opened as part of the Academy-Community- Change Forum, of the Council for Higher Education. As part of the course, approximately 50 bilingual students volunteer in public institutions—25 of them in healthcare institutions.
- Partnerships. A strategic partnership was formed with the Jerusalem Intercultural Center (an organization that deals chiefly with dialogue between different communities), and it agreed to host the Committee's activity.
- Networking. Meetings were held with organizations for which the issue is germane to encourage them to join the forum that the Committee is planning to set up.
- Fundraising. Applications were submitted to foundations and government ministries (Health and Absorption).
- The Committee's founder is receiving organizational-development and fundraising consulting services from Shatil.
ACTIVITIES FOR 2007/08
Organizational development
- A steering committee, composed of academics specializing in language access, healthcare professionals, and representatives of the various minority communities will be set up. During the past year the Committee's founder has already established working or consulting relations with most of the planned members of the steering committee.
- Subject to budgetary constraints, the Committee plans to employ a director (its founder), a coordinator for the Language Access Forum, and two field coordinators to help healthcare institutions develop language-access services.
- Depending on its income, the Committee will register as an independent amuta (the founder believes that the minimum income that would justify establishing an independent amuta is approximately $65,000). Should this sum not be raised during the coming year, the committee will continue to operate as an unregistered association and rely on organizations with which it cooperates to channel donations to it.
Advocacy
- A Language Access Forum will be established. It will meet once a month and work to promote Knesset legislation for a "language access basket" of medical services for linguistic minorities. Its members will be drawn from organizations for which the issue is relevant (migrant workers, the deaf, immigrants, Israeli Arabs, Ultra-Orthodox etc.), academics specializing in the field, and healthcare professionals.
- A two-day annual conference will be organized, with a hybrid focus. The first day will be more activist in nature, with discussions of access as a fundamental right, activity in the field, the status of legislation, the experience in other countries, etc. The second day will be devoted to the professional and academic aspects of language access.
Developing language-access services
- Teams will be trained at the three hospitals to provide language access in the health services. The interpreters will be drawn from the ranks of the hospital staffs or may be external interpreters.
Community activity
- A monthly information talk will be given to relevant sectors (a total of 12 talks).
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