How can I get care in my language?
Health New Zealand Southern provides 24-hour language support in more than 55 languages. We can support you in hospital, or if you need to see another health care provider.
Languages we can provide interpreters for are:
Afrikaans, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Cantonese, Chinese, Cook Islands Māori, Dari, Dutch, English, Fijian, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Malayalam, Malaysian, Mandarin, Māori, New Zealand Sign Language, Niuean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Samoan, Serbo-Croatian, Sinhala, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Tongan, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
If you do not see your language listed, please contact us. We will try to help.
How do I get an interpreter?
If you have a hospital appointment or have been admitted to the hospital, please let staff know that you need an interpreter.
If you need to see another health care provider, such as a GP, let them know as soon as possible that you need an interpreter.
Interpretation services are free of charge for patients who are attending publicly funded appointments at healthcare facilities either in the public hospital system or community, subject to patient eligibility, i.e. residency.
Interpretation services are free of charge.
How will the interpretation take place?
Interpretation services can be provided face-to-face, via a video link, or on the telephone.
All staff are trained to understand and respect diversity, and many have undertaken additional sign language, cultural and linguistic training.