The most effective way of overcoming this barrier is by employment of bilingual health professionals and other bilingual staff and where this is not feasible, to use interpreting services. The Consent to Treatment and Palliative Care Act 1995 also applies. Generally speaking, a consent must be informed to be valid. 2.2 Cost Implications Interpreting All Health Units are allocated an interpreting budget through the Migrant Health Service. Quarterly feedback on expenditure is provided.
Monitoring is a Regional responsibility.
Increased patterns of usage must be discussed with the Migrant Health Service at the earliest opportunity so that strategies other than service reduction can be employed. Expenditure in excess of the budget allocated becomes a Regional responsibility. In the medium and longer term affirmative action in recruitment of bilingual and bicultural staff and upskilling of existing staff are essential components for successfully addressing the needs of significant populations using mental health services within a particular Area. These strategies are applicable across all Service Areas. These are addressed in the Statements of Practice which follow in 2.4.