Meet Mater’s Language Services team, composed of two dedicated coordinators and eight qualified interpreters who provide in-house interpreter services in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Persian (Farsi) or Dari the most commonly requested languages.  

Language Services Manager Ling Ling Holloway said having interpreters on site means she and her team can build a rapport with their patients and support them throughout their medical journey.

“In-house interpreters are in a position to provide more consistent care for our patients, especially those who have complex medical backgrounds or need multidisciplinary interventions,” Ling Ling said.

“Our in-house interpreters can build trusting relationships with their patients and have the cultural understanding and awareness to support patients through some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.

“Oncology and pregnancy care are the two areas where we support patients for extended periods of time. At Mater Mother’s, we often meet the pregnant ladies on their first antenatal appointments and continue to provide our services to them until they leave the post-natal ward with their babies.”

Ling Ling explains oncology patients can receive continuous support throughout their entire chemotherapy treatment and, where necessary, their palliative care.

“Our role constitutes a wide range of skills. We need to have the capacity to provide professional interpreting services and culturally appropriate care in sometimes complicated and emotional clinical settings. The challenges, nonetheless, make our work rewarding and interesting,” Ling Ling said.

“The team is dedicated to making Mater a more accessible place and has recently been working on translating written medical material into a variety of languages to further support clinical teams.”

In addition to the six languages spoken by the in-house interpreter, Mater Language Services Unit offers booking and coordination for a further 95 spoken languages and Auslan, accumulating over 1 500 occasions of interpreter services each month.

To find out more about Mater’s Language Services please visit the website and interpreters can be organised for patients through clinic bookings or in emergency situations as needed.