Advocacy and Interpreting

A free and confidential service ensuring everyone in Tower Hamlets can access primary healthcare with confidence. Available at all Tower Hamlets GP practices for anyone registered with a Tower Hamlets GP.

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What we do

The Advocacy and Interpreting service provides free and confidential bilingual advocacy, interpreting and translation services. The service is staffed by a team of trained health advocates, all of whom have experience and awareness of the barriers that affect good access to health care.

- An interpreter translates your conversation with a healthcare professional impartially.

- An advocate supports individuals to express their healthcare needs, understand their options, and ensure their views are heard. This can be in English or another language you speak.

Our trained interpreters speak a great variety of community languages, including Bengali/Sylheti, Urdu, Hindi, Mandarin, Polish, Romanian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese and Somali.

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How to access our service

All language support and bilingual health advocacy requests should be made via our single access number. It can be used both by a local resident and general practices:

Telephone: 020 4526 8323 (8am–8.00pm, Monday-Friday and 9am–5pm on Saturdays)

The phone menu will guide callers to the right language group by asking them to select the number for the language they need. 
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If you are in a general practice, you can request that they book on your behalf.

Press 0 Service Admin
Press 1 Bengali, Sylheti, Hindi, Urdu
Press 2 Somali, Arabic, Farsi, Pushto
Press 3 Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese
Press 4 Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian
Press 5 Albanian, Kurdish, Turkish, Macedonian
Press 6 Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian
Press 7 Czech, Romanian, Slovak
Press 8 Twi, Amharic, Mongolian
Press 9 For any other languages
Press # To hear these options again

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Once you choose an option, you will then be asked to select the language you require. There are 30 language options on the menu, with an option for further supported languages.

These further options include British Sign Language (BSL). You can learn about our new video British Sign Language Interpreting App for our deaf community in Tower Hamlets  here.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to book an interpreter in advance for my appointment?
If your appointment requires a face-to-face interpreter, the interpreter must be booked in advance, as interpreters are not based at GP practices. However, telephone and video interpreting services are available on demand every day, including in emergency situations.

Can I trust the quality of the translation I will receive?
‍Yes. All our interpreters are fully fluent in the language and share a cultural understanding of the languages they speak.

How do I update my record to show that I need an interpreter or advocate?
‍Please inform your doctor so that a note can be added to your medical file.

Can my children, family, or friends book an interpreter for my appointment on my behalf?
‍Yes, provided you have agreed and they have correct details of your appointment.

Can I specify if I would require a male or female interpreter when I make my booking?
Yes, you can specify this, as our booking system allows you to do so.

How do I send positive or negative feedback regarding my experience using the service?
You can request our service feedback form from your Practice/Surgery, or contact us directly through our compliments and complaints form.

TOWER HAMLETS GP CARE GROUP CIC
Island Health Practice 1st Floor, 145 East Ferry Road, London, England, E14 3BQ
Company number 09233816