Providing people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities with information in their own language can make it easier for them to communicate with health services and to use medicines safely and effectively.

Free interpreting services

The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National on 131 4 50) is available to non-English speaking people who have difficulty communicating with GPs, specialists and pharmacists.

If you think a relative, friend or client may need an interpreter, encourage them to use one by asking the receptionist, doctor or pharmacist. Give them details of the language, dialect and gender needed. They can then organise an interpreter.

The TIS National service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is free for Australian citizens and permanent residents visiting doctors and pharmacists in private practice.

Other interpreting services are available in hospitals. If an interpreter is needed, tell the hospital staff and ask them to organise one.

Multi-lingual medication organiser

Medication organisers, sometimes called dose administration aids, can make it easier for people to take the right medicines at the right time. Blister-pack medication organisers store each dose of medicine in a separate compartment labelled according to the day and time of day it should be taken. Blister packs are filled by a pharmacist, and usually hold one or two week’s supply of medicine.

One brand, the Webster-pak, is available in 20 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Macedonian, Maltese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Serbian, Tagalog, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.

The days of the week and times of the day are printed in the person’s language. However, the medicine’s name and dosage instructions are in English, so the details can be checked by pharmacists, carers and emergency services workers.

To arrange a multi-lingual blister-pack medication organiser, talk to your local pharmacist. Note, there may be a small charge for the service.

Medicines Line

Anyone can ask questions about their medicines by ringing Medicines Line on 1300 633 424 (1300 MEDICINE). The service is available Monday–Friday, 9 am–5 pm (AEST) for the cost of a local call (mobile calls may cost more). If an interpreter is needed, first ring the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 and ask to speak to Medicines Line. Calls to Medicines Line are answered by healthdirect Australia.

Written information

NPS has some bilingual brochures that can be downloaded from the translated health information pages or ordered by ringing 02 8217 8700. They include:

• Medimate brochure – information about medicines and how to use them, and advice about talking to doctors and pharmacists about medicines.
• NPS Medicines List – helps people to make a list of their medicines.
• Questions to ask about your medicines brochure.
  

A brochure about Home Medicines Reviews  is available in English and 20 other languages. It can be downloaded from the Pharmacy Guild’s website.

Fact sheets on hundreds of health topics are available in many languages from the websites of the:

• NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service
• Victorian Government Health Translations Directory.