When Francesca Bussey’s deaf father was admitted to hospital in 2019, she dropped everything to be available to sign for him. But is it always appropriate for relatives to interpret for their loved ones? And are we taking advantage of goodwill to cover for a shortfall in professional interpreting services?
A recent sad but insightful story from the BBC on the need for sign interpreters in challenging medical settings, but it asks the wider question — should children have to translate for their parents, or can we have a policy that these stressful situations should be managed by non-familial translators?