Tips to stay calm in cultural languages

Removing any language barrier is essential to ensure patient safety and the provision of quality care.

Western Sydney has one of the most diverse cultural communities in Sydney, with 49 per cent of residents speaking a language other than English at home.

Providing COVID-19 health materials in a variety of languages is critical to support residents and help them stay COVID safe.

Recognising this the team from the WSLHD Translation Service has developed resources in 26 languages and produced 10 translated videos specifically related to COVID-19.

The videos titled “Stay Calm” were produced in English and features WSLHD Mental Health service executive director Professor Bill Brakoulias, who shares some important tips on how to stay calm during COVID-19.

WSLHD Translation Service manager Eva Melhem says her team have worked tirelessly to develop these resources.

“We adopted a rapid response strategy and worked with our translators providing the most up-to-date information which was immediately available for our communities,” Eva said.

The translated information provides information on health screening, testing clinics, symptoms, hand hygiene, physical distancing, home isolation and other measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

“This information has been distributed to our communities with assistance from local councils, community organisations, other LHDs and social media,” Eva said.

The videos can be found on WSLHD YouTube page and have been translated in Arabic, Tamil, Turkish, Dari, Persian, Nepali, Mandarin, Korean and Cantonese and English.  

For further information about the WLSHD Translation Service or to obtain any of these resources, click here.