We won the contract with NHS Hull CCG following a competitive tendering process. AA Global will now provide translation and interpretation services as required to assist communication between staff and patients at more than 200 primary care providers across the city, including dentists, pharmacies, opticians and GPs surgeries.

Primary care providers will also be able to access skilled British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to communicate more effectively with deaf and hearing-impaired patients.

Kirk Akdemir, CEO of AA Global, said: “Our services will help health professionals in Hull deal with patients who cannot communicate in English.

“We can provide interpreters to deliver a face-to-face service, a telephone interpreting service and we offer written translations. These services will help the health professionals operate more efficiently and save time in communicating with patients.”

Kirk added that AA Global expects demand for around 30 different languages and is equipped to meet any requirements.

He said: “We understand the range of nationalities in the Hull area is such that there will be demand for about 30 languages, but we can cover more if required.

“We ran a recruitment campaign in Hull and East Yorkshire earlier this year and that helped us increase our capability. However we are aware that there are people in the area who are skilled in translation and interpreting, particularly in a medical environment, and who have not worked with us in the past and it may be that we will talk to them and strengthen our team further.

“We are investing in a major training programme which will ensure that all of our translators and interpreters who work on the NHS Hull CCG contract will receive extra training to meet the requirements of the health professionals and their patients.

“AA Global operates in a variety of industries in the public and private sectors including local authorities and health authorities and we work hard to ensure we deliver services that are client-specific.

“In this case we are fully aware of the sensitive nature of some of the work, particularly when it comes to working with children and vulnerable adults.”

Dr Dan Roper, local GP and Interim Chair of the CCG said: “NHS Hull CCG is committed to providing a health service that respects and responds to the diversity of the local population. We sought to appoint an experienced and innovative company to help ensure that language is not a barrier to accessing GP, dental, optometry or pharmacy services in Hull.

“AA Global’s detailed knowledge of the languages spoken across the city, and its understanding of the translation and interpretation needs of local GP Practices will deliver a first class service for our residents.”

The company’s public sector clients in the Hull and East Yorkshire area include Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the City Health Care Partnership.

Newspaper coverage here