AVICS Association Voluntary Interpreters Costa del Sol

This is really useful information about how to arrange someone to speak in your behalf about medical issues if you are unable to

Naming Someone to Speak for You in Medical Situations Many British residents in Spain believe that if a partner becomes ill or unable to communicate, they must arrange a Power of Attorney. However, when it comes to medical decisions, Spain has a much simpler system known as voluntad Vital Anticipada. Spain allows people to formally record their medical...

This could be very useful 👍🏻

✅ COMING SOON ✅

🗓️ By the end of March, you’ll be able to carry your health card on your mobile phone.

📲 The virtual health card will allow you to manage procedures, check information, and access healthcare services without needing to carry the physical card.

☝️ A step forward designed to make life easier and bring digital healthcare closer to everyone, integrated into the
"Carpeta Ciudadana' (Citizen Folder) and created to be simple, secure, and accessible.😊

There has been so much confusion, commenting and general viral panic about this notice. Please note that AVICS will continue to provide voluntary translation services both at the University Hospital Costa del Sol as well as CARE (subject to availability) as we have been doing for over 20years now. Where no volunteer service is available, staff have a teletranslation app at their service. We will continue to help wherever we can 👍🏻😊

Interpreters for Andalucia Health Centres. Notices in some centres prompted me to call this Salud Responde this morning.

Salud Responde stated it has no record of any regional policy requiring patients to bring their own interpreter.

They confirmed the posters were not issued by them or by a regional health authority and are not an official SAS requirement.

They explained that the public health system already provides an interpretation/translation service that clinicians can access when patients do not speak or understand Spanish.

Crucially, they emphasised that patients are not obligated to hire, bring, or pay for their own interpreter to receive care.

Any requests to bring someone who speaks Spanish are appearing to be local clinic level suggestions, not a binding regional policy.

Salud Responde’s official position as conveyed to me on the phone this morning is that the interpreter posters do not reflect a regional directive, and patients are not required to bring an interpreter to receive health care.

Official translation service already exists

The SAS actually includes a tele-translation/interpretation service via Salud Responde that covers many languages and is available to clinicians to use when needed, so language support is already built into the public system.

Please download the "Salud Responde" App.

Added to respond to questions from other regions. Healthcare is a national right in Spain. Regions manage services but cannot require patients to bring an interpreter. Language difficulties do not remove the right to care.

In case anyone is looking for us since the new building has opened at the University Hospital Costa del Sol - our desk is close to the lifts which go up to the patient rooms (in the old block). Or please ask the nursing staff, or at the Information Desk in the new building to call us if you need us. We try to provide cover from 10am to 8pm Mon-Sat and we are more than happy to help break down any language barrier issues you might have 😊