Cabinet: soon more Ukrainian interpreters needed in healthcare

Healthcare providers must be able to “use a professional interpreter with an accessible and without administrative burden if necessary” to communicate well with Ukrainian patients. “This must be organized as soon as possible,” said Eric van der Burg, the state secretary responsible for asylum.

Particularly for health care providers who treat many Ukrainian refugees, the normal working method for interpreters is “insufficiently appropriate”. In those cases, care providers can therefore call on professional interpreters.

The cabinet is setting aside 1.6 million euros for the period up to and including June of this year for the hiring of professional interpreters. But Van der Burg points out that there is a lack of “interpreters who speak the right language”. In some cases, healthcare providers therefore have to find a different way to communicate with their Ukrainian patients. The Ministry of Health will discuss this with the parties involved.