Ipswich Hospital has admitted mistakes after its translation services costs soared by 80 per cent in a year

A HOSPITAL has admitted mistakes after its spending on translation services soared by 80% in just a year.

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Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show Ipswich Hospital paid out £27,000 in 2010/11, up from £15,000 the previous year.

It is unclear why expenditure jumped so dramatically but the hospital conceded it was “probably not using all the translation services in the right way”.

The revelation comes just weeks after health chiefs admitted the hospital’s debts had spiralled to £11.6million over the summer, putting scores of jobs under threat.

Suffolk health campaigner Prue Rush said: “It would appear from various reports coming out of Ipswich Hospital that there are problems with how management are coping with things like this and managing their sums.

“It’s vitally important that when a patient is talking to a doctor or vice versa there is a clear understanding of what’s being said.

“It is good that they are doing this particular job properly, we just have to hope they are doing it to the best of their ability and with a good eye on the economics.

“We are part of a larger European Union and we are a multi-cultural society but people who come and live in this country should try to learn our language. Quite often a patient will come in with a relative who can translate and that should be the first port of call.”

A spokeswoman for Ipswich Hospital said bosses launched a review after noticing the jump in expenditure.

She said: “We looked at where the demand was increasing and looked at whether we could provide the service in a different way.

“We had to make sure we were using the correct translation service for the correct situation.

“We understand we were probably not using all the translation services in the right way.

“I think we have seen many more patients more quickly, and inevitably that means an increase in demand.”