Case Study: Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust achieves 92% interpreting cost savings with thebigword's on-demand phone interpreting

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust - Customer Case Study

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, recently rated “excellent” by the Care Quality Commission, needed to cut costs without harming patient care—particularly the rising expense and time burden of arranging face‑to‑face interpreters. The Trust turned to thebigword for on‑demand telephone interpreting using their Interpreting Management System (IMS) to reduce interpreter wait times, missed‑appointment charges and resource pressures across busy departments.

thebigword’s IMS gives staff instant access to expert interpreters in more than 250 languages, guiding users to the right linguist and only charging when a connection is made. That shift delivered measurable savings (a 92% saving in one month), shorter average calls (around 12 minutes at about £6 versus hour‑long face‑to‑face sessions averaging £35), no negative impact on patient experience, and prompted the Trust to consider wider rollout of thebigword’s translation technology.

Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust

John Williams

Switchboard Manager