Deaf people criticise hospital interpreter delays

A deaf man who spent 24 hours in hospital without the support of an interpreter said staff were shouting out his name despite being told he could not hear.

Terry Murray, from Rugby, is among a group of NHS patients to have been left feeling frustrated or vulnerable at a city hospital because of a lack of sign language interpreters.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Association for the Deaf (CWAD) said it had received more than 100 complaints over delays in getting access to interpreters at University Hospital Coventry.

The trust running the hospital said its interpreter service provider LanguageLine Solutions would be engaging with CWAD.

Mr Murray told BBC Radio CWR he was taken to hospital with potential brain issues and asked for an interpreter but was not given one for 24 hours.

He said he had a CT scan and an MRI but the staff could not explain anything for him because there was nobody who knew sign language.

"They just basically took me, put me in, I had the scan and then was told to leave," he said.

Another CWAD service user said such situations could have safety implications.

Helen Patterson, from Solihull, said she requested an interpreter four or five times in advance before hospital appointments but none had been there when she arrived.

She said it felt like a waste of her time and money, adding that she had sometimes been offered an interpreter over a video link but said there were often connection issues.

"If we're sat there as deaf people, we don't know if there's a fire alarm, if there's a bomb or if there's an emergency," she said.

"We're at risk not having an interpreter present with us. We're very vulnerable."

National hearing loss charity RNID told the BBC that the NHS was "flouting equality law", adding that under the Accessible Information Standard, the NHS should be providing interpreters and accessible means of communication when needed.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 4 October 2025

Related reading on the hub:

• Top picks: 11 resources to support people with hearing loss or deafness