“So many serious errors occur in sensitive interpreting situations that I believe it is clear that legal certainty and patient safety are at risk,” says Michael Larsson, CEO of the interpreting and translation company Linguacom.
“Although the pressure to reduce costs is understandable, we cannot allow it to compromise quality to such an extent that it causes suffering for people who are already extremely vulnerable,” Michael explains.
During the major waves of refugees arriving in Sweden five or six years ago, the demand for interpreters increased dramatically. The number of available interpreters at the time was simply insufficient, so it was hardly surprising that people with language skills, but without professional interpreting qualifications, were recruited.
“Interpreting is a skilled profession that involves infinitely more than simply mastering a language,” says Michael Larsson. “Perhaps the most common problem is assigning interpreters without specialist knowledge to situations that require specific expertise.”
“There are numerous examples from both the legal system and healthcare sector where interpreters lacking specialist knowledge have caused serious problems. This has resulted in unnecessary suffering for those involved and, of course, significantly higher costs than would otherwise have been necessary.”
Just a couple of years ago, there were reports of a trial that had to be repeated entirely because the interpreter had made so many errors that the proceedings were no longer considered legally sound.
In healthcare, there is a well-known case in which an interpreter incorrectly translated a patient’s relatively minor lung condition as lung cancer.
“Both cases illustrate situations where interpreters with specialist knowledge were not prioritised. Ultimately, this leads to even higher costs than if a qualified specialist interpreter had been selected from the beginning, even at a slightly higher price.”
Michael Larsson believes that public authorities’ constant pursuit of the lowest possible costs is a major contributing factor. However, the problem also stems from procurement officers and those commissioning interpreting services having insufficient knowledge of the skills and qualifications required of an interpreter.
Nobody knows exactly how many active interpreters there are in Sweden, but a reasonable estimate is somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000. Of these, approximately 1,000 are authorised interpreters.
“It is extremely important that we, as an industry, actively work to improve the level of training among practising interpreters. This is one of the reasons why we have established our own training programmes,” says Michael Larsson.
“At the same time, contracting authorities must recognise the value of this and give greater consideration in their procurement processes to bids from companies employing authorised and professionally trained interpreters. For a long time, the focus has been almost exclusively on price, and this has led to a number of more or less scandalous outcomes.”
In 2019, the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (Kammarkollegiet) conducted a procurement process that was won by a Norwegian-owned company. By offering extremely low agency fees, the company aimed to establish itself in the Swedish market.
After approximately a year, it became clear that the company was unable to deliver the required services, and the situation eventually resulted in the company being forced to withdraw. Before that happened, however, far too many public authorities and individuals had already been exposed to unacceptable situations.
“We understand how difficult things can be for procurement departments,” says Michael Larsson. “Naturally, they do not have specialist knowledge of every sector in which they procure services. They are experts in procurement itself, not necessarily in the profession or industry concerned.”
“That is why it is extremely important that they listen to those of us working in the industry. We have the knowledge and experience, and we want to contribute to improving the situation for both society and our profession.”