Correctional institutions Communicating with patients who speak foreign languages – Hall Regional Hospital, Graz Süd-West Regional Hospital Hall Regional Hospital During a visit to the forensic ward of Hall Regional Hospital in November 2016, the NPM addressed the problem of communicating with patients who speak foreign languages, among other problems. During an attempt to converse with a detainee in the forensic ward, the commission learned that the patient could not speak German or English. No ability to communicate The on-duty nursing staff also could not communicate with the patient. The caregivers confirmed that an interpreter is available in principle. However, it is not possible to call in the interpreter before every nursing activity, since he is not present around the clock. Both Tiroler Kliniken GmbH and the Federal Ministry pointed out that it is solely within the medical responsibility and competence of the clinic to decide whether and how the clinic staff communicate with a patient before, during and after placing him or her in restraint. There is no requirement that verbal communications should be in the affected person’s mother tongue. A close relationship can also result from relationship-oriented non-verbal communication, such as sign language, facial expressions or gestures. In the hospital’s view, the constant presence of interpreters constitutes a significant security risk since they are not sufficiently familiar with the situation in a forensic ward and with the patients. Image folder and video interpreting However, the NPM’s criticism was taken into account since the nursing staff made a folder with pictograms. It contains symbols and pictures of everyday items and situations with the corresponding German word or phrase. Moreover, an additional video interpreter account was ordered for the relevant ward. Video interpreter is available within a short period of time, as was demonstrated during a follow-up visit. Forensic ward at Graz Süd-West Regional Hospital During a visit to the forensic ward at Graz Süd-West Regional Hospital, it was also made clear that psychiatric treatment and therapy require a common understanding of a language. Graz-West Regional Hospital promised to intensify its efforts to utilise interpreters on a permanent basis. The NPM made reference to the video interpreting system, which has become established throughout Austria in the medical areas of all correctional institutions. The NPM recommended that Styrian Hospitals Limited Liability Company (Steiermärkische Krankenanstaltengesellschaft) considers the adoption of this system. XX  A video interpreting system should be established in public hospitals. XX  If it is not possible to communicate with a patient due to a language barrier, an interpreter should be called in or pictogrammes should be used. 112