Researchers say many elderly members of Hong Kong's South Asian community are struggling with language barriers, leaving them in difficulty when seeking medical treatment and unsure of how to access financial support, with matters made worse by the pandemic.

A team from the Metropolitan University made the findings in a study based on interviews with 58 Indian, Nepalese and Pakistani people aged 60 and above between May 2021 and July this year. Many of the interviewees could neither speak nor read English or Cantonese, making life "inconvenient" and leaving them reliant on help from younger relatives.

Terence Shum, an assistant professor who led the research, said the problem was particularly acute for those who had to visit public hospitals. Some found that translation services were suspended at times during the Covid pandemic, and even though interpreters are now available again, interviewees were not always confident in the translation.

“Some of them expressed that the interpreters didn’t translate the language correctly, because sometimes maybe they [the participants] understand a little bit of English or Cantonese,” Shum said.

“So they will just go with their children or grandchildren to seek medical advice, but some of them will say: well, it’s difficult to match the medical appointment with the working schedule of the children and grandchildren. So some of them will just forget about the appointment or postpone it.”

Meanwhile, Shum also said many of the participants faced a difficult financial situation, and the language barrier made it harder for them to access financial support.

“Hong Kong Chinese older adults would know how to get additional information to apply for financial assistance from NGOs or the government. But South Asian older adults may not have this knowledge or gain access to this kind of information from different official resources,” he explained.

Shum said some participants relied on help from their children, who may have lost jobs during the pandemic.

He called on the government to cooperate with NGOs or associations representing ethnic minorities to provide professional training and support and build up interpretation services at public hospitals. He also suggested that training could be given to the children of older South Asian adults to help them as caregivers.

In response to an RTHK enquiry, a Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson said interpretation service had never been suspended during the pandemic, adding that relevant guidelines are in place to ensure service quality.

"To ensure the quality of interpretation service at public hospitals and clinics, the HA provides through its interpretation service contractor training for all interpreters on general knowledge about the operation of hospitals and clinics, medical terminologies and infection control, so that interpreters can provide interpretation services for users of diverse race in a prompt and accurate manner," the spokesperson said.
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Last updated: 2022-10-14 HKT 22:30