HSE · Maternity units · Mental health teams · A&E · GP clinics
Medical interpreter at your appointment in 90 minutes.
From €70 / hour. Polish & Ukrainian on call. GDPR-bound, trauma-aware interpreters.
We cover consultations, mental-health sessions, antenatal appointments and A&E across Irish public and private healthcare. Confidential, neutral, screened for medical vocabulary.
- Rated 5.0 / 5 on Google
- Same-day urgent bookings
- Qualified court / medical / business
- 100% confidential GDPR-bound
- WhatsApp ready reply in minutes
Clinical Settings Covered
Hospital / A&E
Admission, triage, imaging, consent clarification, discharge instructions.
Maternity
Prenatal consultations, labour support (non‑advocacy), neonatal care explanations.
Primary Care
GP, dentistry, vaccination, chronic condition reviews.
Mental Health
Psychology, counselling, trauma‑aware & youth pathways.
Allied Health
Physiotherapy, dietetics, speech & occupational therapy.
TeleHealth
Follow‑ups, results clarification & medication adherence checks.
Which Setting Are You Booking For?
Each Irish healthcare setting has its own pace, paperwork and consent conventions. Match your booking to the setting so the interpreter arrives prepared for the right vocabulary and time budget.
GP surgery
Typical length: 10–15 minutes, single presenting complaint. Consecutive mode. GPs use screening scripts (e.g. cardiovascular risk, mental-health PHQ-9) that benefit from an interpreter used to short, structured Q&A.
- Repeat prescriptions and DoseCentre pharmacy handoffs
- Medical Card / GP visit card eligibility conversations
- Referral letters to public consultants (long waits explained honestly)
- Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDM) reviews
Hospital ward & outpatient
Typical length: 20–45 minutes for outpatient; open-ended on-ward. Slower pace, more diagnostic detail, multi-professional team-around-bed conversations. HSE-managed hospitals dispatch interpreters via the HSE framework; private hospitals (Mater Private, Blackrock, Bon Secours) book us directly.
- Pre-operative assessment (POA) and anaesthetic consent
- MRI / CT / endoscopy consent, prep and results
- Discharge planning and community-care handoff
- Ward round translations of trainee doctor notes
A&E (Emergency Department)
Typical length: unpredictable — triage first, then bays. High-urgency, high-consequence. Interpreters keep register strictly clinical and confirm identity of every clinician who joins the conversation. We prioritise A&E requests and can dispatch phone interpretation within minutes for triage while an on-site interpreter is en route.
- Manchester Triage Scale category explanations
- Bloods, imaging and cannulation consent
- Admission-vs-discharge decision conversations
- Follow-on fracture clinic / GP referral hand-offs
Specialist outpatient
Typical length: 30–60 minutes, terminology-heavy. Cardiology, respiratory, oncology, neurology, endocrinology, renal, orthopaedics, gastroenterology and rheumatology. Interpreters brief on the specific specialty before attending — an oncology consult and an orthopaedic follow-up need very different vocabulary sets.
- Multidisciplinary team (MDT) outcome briefings
- Staged consent for surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy
- Genetic counselling and family-history questionnaires
- Long-term treatment planning and adherence coaching
HSE Panel, Mental Health Tribunals & Section 47
Medical interpreting in Ireland routinely crosses into statutory review work — Mental Health Act tribunals for involuntary admissions and Section 47 Child Care Act directions being the two most common. We staff both.
HSE interpreting panel
Public-hospital and community-health bookings raised through a HSE clinician are dispatched via the HSE interpreting framework — the same route the HSE uses to source all its interpreters. For non-HSE bookings (GPs, NGOs, private clinics, insurance-funded second opinions), we take the booking directly and invoice on standard terms. Either way the interpreter is credentialed on medical-terminology accuracy and trauma-aware neutrality.
Mental Health Act 2001 tribunals
An involuntary admission under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act 2001 must be reviewed within 21 days by a Mental Health Tribunal. If the tribunal renews the order under Section 15, further reviews follow (3-month, 6-month, 12-month). We interpret at the tribunal itself, at the patient consultation with the tribunal-appointed legal representative and at pre-tribunal psychiatric interviews. Interpreters are briefed on the specific difference between clinical psychiatric terminology and lay understanding — a critical distinction the tribunal actively probes.
Section 47 Child Care Act 1991
Section 47 lets a court give directions on any matter affecting the welfare of a child in Tusla care. Parents attending these District Court sittings almost always need interpretation, and so does any pre-court social-work meeting, guardian ad litem interview or child-in-care review. Our interpreters attend the courtroom and the Tusla team meeting — same interpreter for continuity where possible, to preserve the family’s trust across a stressful process.
Assisted decision-making & capacity
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 came into full effect in 2023 and shifted how capacity is assessed and how supports are arranged. Interpreters attend capacity-assessment interviews, Decision Support Service consultations and Ward-of-Court transitions, with careful attention to the distinction between a decision the person cannot make and a decision they simply have not been supported to communicate.
How It Works
- Request – Provide date, location (or remote), language & clinical context.
- Assignment – We match a medically competent interpreter & confirm availability.
- Session – Consecutive interpreting delivered neutrally (with note‑taking if needed).
- Completion – Optional brief accuracy confirmation; no patient data stored beyond operational logs.
Pricing
Medical interpreting is quoted per assignment, priced by setting and notice.
On-Site (hospital, GP, clinic)
From €70 per hour, 2-hour minimum.
Remote (phone or video)
Follow-ups, triage and low-complexity consultations quoted per session.
Mental Health Tribunal / Section 47
From €70 per hour, statutory-review bookings.
Confidentiality & Quality
GDPR Focus
Only operational minimum data retained; no analytics scripts on booking forms.
Terminology Accuracy
Interpreters brief for procedure‑specific terminology (e.g. cardiology vs obstetrics).
Neutrality
No advocacy; patient & clinician remain decision leads.
Emergency Cover
Out‑of‑hours support attempted for high‑urgency cases (subject to availability).
Languages
Core coverage: Polish, Ukrainian. Extended: Russian, Lithuanian, Romanian, French, Spanish & others via network.
Medical Interpreting FAQ
Do you provide on-site hospital interpreters?
Yes. We attend HSE hospitals, private clinics, A&E, maternity and specialist units with short notice coverage when possible.
Are interpreters trained in medical terminology?
All medical interpreters are screened for healthcare terminology, confidentiality awareness and scenario-based accuracy before assignment.
Can you help with mental health sessions?
Yes. We have trauma‑aware interpreters experienced with counselling, CAMHS and psychology appointments, following strict neutrality.
Is this service GDPR / confidentiality compliant?
We use secure, minimal data handling. Interpreters sign NDAs and follow HSE confidentiality and GDPR principles (purpose limitation & data minimisation).
Do you offer remote (phone / video) medical interpreting?
Yes. Secure phone & video interpreting for follow‑ups, triage, discharge clarification and low‑complexity consultations.
Which languages are covered?
Polish and Ukrainian are core; we also cover Russian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Spanish, French and other EU languages on request.
Are you on the HSE interpreting panel?
Bookings we take from HSE teams are handled through the HSE interpreting framework and dispatched by the relevant service. For private clinics, GPs and NGOs we invoice directly and can share our internal interpreter credentials on request.
Can you interpret at a Mental Health Tribunal review?
Yes. We provide interpreters for Mental Health Act 2001 tribunal reviews of involuntary admissions, including the initial 21-day review and s.15 renewal orders. We match interpreters familiar with tribunal procedure and psychiatric vocabulary.
Do you cover Child Care Act Section 47 applications?
Yes. Section 47 of the Child Care Act 1991 lets a court give directions about a child in care; parents often need interpretation for the application, the child’s guardian ad litem meeting and any related access review. We attend the District Court sitting and any Tusla case-planning meeting.
What is the difference between GP, A&E and specialist interpreting?
A GP consultation is usually 10–15 minutes, one issue, consecutive mode. A&E is unpredictable pace, triage plus clinical assessment, often with imaging or bloods to explain. A specialist outpatient session (cardiology, respiratory, orthopaedics, oncology) is longer, terminology-heavy and frequently requires review of test results and staged treatment consent.
Can you interpret at a HSE consent-to-treatment conversation?
Yes. Consent conversations — for surgery, blood products, chemotherapy, or a Do Not Resuscitate discussion — require an interpreter who will not summarise or advocate. Ours are briefed to render the clinician’s explanation and the patient’s questions verbatim.
Need a Medical Interpreter?
Send appointment details (date, time, location / remote platform & language) and we will confirm allocation rapidly. Need a different setting? See our full interpreting services.
