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Found 26 results
  1. Content Article
    The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has appointed Dr Camilla Kingdon to chair an independent review into children’s hearing services (paediatric audiology). The review will consider: NHS England’s response to the service failures in children’s hearing services. How the relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care could be improved, and identify lessons learned. How NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved, and identify lessons learned. This call for evidence is seeking the views of: Individuals with experience of children’s hearing services in England. Professionals and organisations who work in or with children’s hearing services in England. The responses will be used inform the findings and recommendations of the independent review. This call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 2 June 2025
  2. News Article
    Deaf patients face systemic discrimination when it comes to learning about their own health due to NHS failings, with some not understanding that they might have a terminal illness, according to a damning report. The study by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) accuses the NHS of “routinely failing” deaf people. A survey of more than 1,000 people in England who are deaf or have hearing loss found that almost one in 10 had avoided calling an ambulance or attending A&E due to their disability, and a quarter had avoided seeking help for a new health concern. The survey also found that about half of sign language users reported not having understood their diagnosis, or how their treatment worked. NHS staff said a lack of training, time and a poor IT system were major factors in being unable to provide these accessibility requirements for deaf people. The report also highlights instances of deaf people receiving particularly poor NHS care. In one instance, a woman was not provided with an interpreter, which meant she was unaware she had had a miscarriage. Another example was a patient receiving no food or water during a hospital stay as they could not hear staff offering it to them. Sharing her experiences as part of the report, Dr Natasha Wilcock, a deaf doctor who works in palliative care, said she had met patients who had been referred to palliative care services who, due to the lack of communication, did not understand they were dying and no longer receiving cancer treatment. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 April 2025 Further reading on the hub: Top picks: 11 resources to support people with hearing loss or deafness
  3. Content Article
    In this report, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) and SignHealth demonstrate that the NHS does not have the systems in place to fulfil the right to accessible healthcare for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. This new research shows that the NHS often fails to meet the fundamental needs of people who are deaf or have hearing loss, clearly violating the rights set out in the Equality Act over 15 years ago. The consequences can be devastating. People who are deaf or have hearing loss are deterred from seeking NHS treatment, don’t understand the information they are given and, ultimately, feel unable to manage their own physical and mental health because of the failures of the NHS to provide accessible healthcare. Awareness of the key regulation, the NHS Accessible Information Standard, is low amongst NHS staff. In addition, patient information often isn’t recorded and shared accurately, and staff may not know how to access the information they need, or what action to take to ensure patients’ communication needs are met. The result is a system with too many barriers, undermining the ability of people who are deaf or have hearing loss to access safe and effective treatment. Further reading on the hub: Top picks: 11 resources to support people with hearing loss or deafness
  4. News Article
    The Secretary of State, Wes Streeting, has commissioned an independent review of children’s hearing services and has appointed Dr Camilla Kingdon as its independent chair. The review will consider: the NHS England response to the service failures in paediatric audiology how the relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) could be improved and identify lessons learned how NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved and identify lessons learned. In December 2021, a report was published into service issues in paediatric audiology in NHS Lothian, which focused on whether children’s hearing tests were being conducted properly and effectively followed up. Further issues with the diagnosis of hearing issues in newborns and children were identified in other Scottish NHS trusts in 2023. Subsequent assessment of NHS audiology services in paediatric departments across England in 2023 and 2024 identified similar problems. NHS England established the Paediatric Hearing Services Improvement Programme in 2023 to address the issues and oversee remedial action. Dr Kingdon brings extensive expertise to the review. She has been a consultant neonatologist at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital for over 20 years and until March last year she was President of RCPCH. She has an MA in Medical Careers Management and was Head of the London School of Paediatrics and Child Health for 5 years from 2014. Read full story Source: Gov UK, 14 April 2025
  5. Content Article
    Dr Camilla Kingdon has been appointed by the Secretary of State to chair an independent review of children's hearing services. This document sets out the terms of reference for the independent review of children’s hearing services in England. The review will consider: NHS England’s response to the service failures in paediatric audiology how the relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care could be improved and identify lessons learned how NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved and identify lessons learned. Related reading on the hub: Top picks: 11 resources to support people with hearing loss or deafness
  6. Content Article
    More information about "The Safety Gap: Safety and accessibility of medicines and medical devices for people with sensory impairment (Patient Safety Commissioner, 31 March 2025)"
    Patients with vision or hearing loss frequently encounter difficulties accessing vital health information, medication instructions, and effectively using medical devices. This report for the Patient Safety Commissioner for England, commissioned from Professor Margaret Watson, highlights serious gaps and deficiencies in the way that people with visual and/or hearing impairment or loss (referred to as sensory impairment) are able to access and use medicines and medical devices safely. This report presents the results of a short-term study to explore the challenges experienced by patients with sensory impairment in relation to their safe and effective access to and use of medicines and medical devices. This study was conducted from September to December 2024. The primary data that were generated were derived from three sources: Focus groups involving individuals with visual impairment or loss, including people with diabetes. Key Informant responses to an electronic survey. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Yellow Card reports. Patients reported distressing experiences due to inaccessible packaging, unreadable patient information, inadequate communication about medication changes and a lack of suitable reporting mechanisms for issues. The report makes the following recommendations: The MHRA needs to review – working alongside patients – whether their current guidance and regulations for the licencing and packaging of medicines goes as far as is possible to enable their safe use by those with sensory impairment. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), MHRA and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) should work together to restart work – alongside published milestones – to digitise paper-based patient information leaflets via the existing UK Electronic Patient Information Task Force (ePIL). As part of this restart, ePIL – working with patients – should examine how to maximise the benefits of this work for patients with sensory impairment. NHS England’s Diabetes Programme Team should launch a patient reference group to assess, understand and mitigate the barriers and enablers to the safe and effective roll-out of medical devices and other education programmes for the management of diabetes (such as DAFNE) for those with sensory impairments. DHSC and NHS England need to ensure the work announced to improve and expand the NHS App in ‘Reforming elective care for patients’ includes an assessment – conducted with the input of patients – to determine whether further accessibility improvements are required, especially for people with visual impairment. In a number of other areas, the report states that the Patient Safety Commissioner wants to make observations to a number of bodies – highlighting the outcome without specifying the solutions, in keeping with the ethos of the recent Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) report ‘Recommendations but no action: improving the effectiveness of quality and safety recommendations in healthcare.’ The report makes the following observations: A patient’s medical record needs to include a prominent flag of accessibility needs and detailed information about these needs to ensure that the healthcare professional can provide any required reasonable adjustments. All relevant healthcare professionals – including community pharmacists – must have sufficient access to these patient records and flags. Healthcare professionals, particularly community pharmacy personnel and others involved in the direct supply of medicines and medical devices, must have sufficient funding to support the additional time and resources required by to undertake assessments of patient needs and provide the required ‘reasonable adjustments’ for medicines and medical devices. With the anticipated increase in prevalence of sensory impairment amongst the general population, further guidance is required to promote evidence-based practice by health and social care professionals in terms of the medicine journey of people with sensory impairment. It is also crucial that there is provision of training to healthcare professionals (ideally within the undergraduate curricula) regarding the needs of people with sensory impairment. People with experience of sensory impairment should be included in the design of medical devices, as well as user information and instructions to accompany their supply and use. Manufacturers need to provide more resources to facilitate the demonstration of the effective use of medical devices, especially for people with visual impairment.
  7. News Article
    Watching from the side of the school playing field, Amy and Noel Denman were worried about Scarlet, their three-year-old daughter. While other children ran around laughing, enjoying their first sports day at the Lincolnshire nursery school, Scarlet seemed vacant. When the teachers told her to run she stood still … then burst into tears. Amy Denman now knows why her daughter was acting so strangely. Recalling that day six years ago, she is furious over how the NHS has failed her family. Scarlet, she has learnt, is partially deaf. She could not understand what was happening or what was expected of her. She is one of thousands of children misdiagnosed by NHS audiology units across England. Leaked internal documents from NHS England reveal a nationwide failure in child hearing services. They suggest that 1,540 children have been misdiagnosed since 2019. Some, like Scarlet, were given the all-clear when they had significant problems. Others were told they were deaf — but hearing aids could have helped them. Some 480 children suffered moderate or severe harm, the papers say. For some infants this will mean permanent delays in speech and language development as well as their educational abilities. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 28 September 2024
  8. Content Article
    Primary care services are the front door to the NHS - they are the first port of call when we feel unwell and the main coordinator of care when we are living with health conditions. The primary care team have an important role in making people feel welcomed, listened to and taken seriously. Yet we often hear examples about people who have not had their communication needs met within primary care. This includes people with sensory impairments, people with learning disabilities, autistic people, people living with dementia, people who don’t speak English fluently, people with low or no literacy, people who are digitally excluded, people living nomadically, people experiencing homelessness and many others.   This report sets out the key issues faced by people with specific communication needs within primary care and what they feel would make the biggest difference, as well as key actions primary care leaders and teams can take to support inclusive communication. 
  9. Content Article
    In this article, published in The Practising Midwife, Rachel Crowe argues that in the UK, pregnant women who are hearing impaired or D/deaf (sign language users) and deaf (who are hard of hearing but who have English as their first language and may lipread and/or use hearing aids) are often labelled as high risk and offered a care pathway that is unsuitable and detrimental to their care. Identifying the gaps in maternity that exist in current guidelines and practice can help midwives to ensure women get appropriate, high-quality woman-centred care. This article provides an overview to the needs of D/deaf birthing people with a number of recommendations and tools for use in clinical practice.
  10. Content Article
    More information about "CardMedic: Empowering staff and patients to communicate across any barrier"
    In this interview, anaesthetist Rachael Grimaldi tells us about CardMedic, the organisation she founded to empower staff and patients to communicate across any barrier. Rachael explains how their tools can be used to support vulnerable groups and reduce inequalities. 
  11. Content Article
    A new toolkit to support GPs to deliver care for patients with hearing loss and aims to encourage deaf patients to access primary care, has been launched. The educational kit, developed by Royal College of GPs (RCGP) in collaboration with the UK’s largest hearing loss charity, RNID and NHS England and Improvement aims to support GPs to consult effectively with deaf patients by offering tips on how to communicate during face to face and remote appointments. It also offers guidelines on how to recognise early symptoms of hearing loss and how to refer patients for a hearing assessment. The project aims to support GPs implement the latest NICE Guidelines, NHS Accessibility Quality Standard and Guidance across the UK. Resources include an Essential Knowledge Update (EKU) Screencast, GPVTS Teaching Powerpoint, Podcasts, Hearing Friendly Practice Charter for your GP Surgery to sign up to, EKU Online E-learning Module, RCGP Accredited Deaf Awareness Online Course, Hearing Friendly Practice Animation Video and much more.
  12. News Article
    The National Deaf Children’s Society has written to every NHS trust in England urging them to start using transparent face masks because standard ones create a “serious communication barrier” for deaf patients. The letters, co-signed by the British Academy of Audiology, said deaf patients could “miss vital information about their health” as opaque masks make lip reading impossible and facial expressions difficult to read. It is likely that face masks will remain widespread in the NHS, as new guidance issued at the start of June states they will still be required in a number of settings, including cancer wards and critical care units, and staff may wear them in other areas depending on personal preference and local risk assessments. Susan Daniels, the chief executive of the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Transparent face masks are fully approved and they could transform the healthcare experience for deaf people. However they communicate, almost all deaf people rely on lip reading and facial expressions. Opaque face masks make these techniques much more difficult and this could seriously affect communication at a time when they might need it the most.” Three types of transparent masks, designed not to fog up, are now approved for use as PPE in healthcare settings, and although they are not currently available on the NHS supply chain, they can be bought direct from suppliers. The government previously delivered 250,000 clear masks to frontline NHS and social care workers in September 2020. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 June 2022
  13. Content Article
    Serious failings in support for deaf children have been laid bare in the final report of the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland. Mark Ballard, National Deaf Children's Society, Head of Policy for Scotland, outlines the history of the Review, and suggests that it is time for the Scottish Government to act on the recommendations of the report.
  14. Content Article
    Review report and recommendations from the Independent Review of Audiology Services in NHS Scotland. The Review was announced by the Scottish Government in January 2022 in the context of failings in the standards of care provided in the NHS Lothian Paediatrics Services. The overarching aims across the findings and recommendations are: to reduce variation and ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centred care across Scotland, with clear accountability. to build a sustainable pipeline of talent and ensure that patients are cared for by professionals with the right knowledge and specialist skills, within services with effective, skilled leadership. to ensure a culture of continuous improvement of quality and outcomes of care across the patient journey, with external assurance of patient safety, clinical effectiveness and patient experience. to ensure that national structures are in place to provide strategic oversight and assurance of audiology services.
  15. Content Article
    More information about "Top picks: 11 resources to support people with hearing loss or deafness"
    The UK Council on Deafness created Deaf Awareness Week to increase the visibility of challenges the deaf community face and educate others on how they can support them. Patient Safety Learning has pulled together 11 useful resources shared on the hub to help healthcare professionals, friends and family communicate and support people with hearing loss or deafness. 1 Royal College of General Practitioners: Deafness and hearing loss toolkit This educational kit, developed by Royal College of GPs (RCGP) in collaboration with RNID and NHS England, aims to support GPs to consult effectively with deaf patients by offering tips on how to communicate during face to face and remote appointments. It offers guidelines on how to recognise early symptoms of hearing loss and how to refer patients for a hearing assessment. 2 Communicating with patients with hearing loss or deafness—Can you hear me? The authors of this JAMA article describe the experience of a family member who was in critical care, and who is deaf. They outline a lack of awareness amongst healthcare professionals about their relative's deafness and highlight the lack of understanding in how to communicate with her. They go on to outline a number of approaches to communicating with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing. 3 Inequalities and unreasonable adjustments: are D/deaf women being given a detrimental care pathway in the name of risk assessment? In this article, published in The Practising Midwife, Rachel Crowe argues that in the UK, pregnant women who are hearing impaired or D/deaf (sign language users) and deaf (who are hard of hearing but who have English as their first language and may lipread and/or use hearing aids) are often labelled as high risk and offered a care pathway that is unsuitable and detrimental to their care. This article provides an overview to the needs of D/deaf birthing people with a number of recommendations and tools for use in clinical practice. 4 Blog - 12 tips for communicating with deaf patients Communication barriers are the number one reason deaf people have poorer health compared to hearing people. This blog by the organisation SignHealth gives 12 tips for healthcare workers and non-clinical staff on how to communicate with deaf people. It also describes the difficulties deaf people face when booking appointments and describes why remote consultations are problematic for deaf people. 5 CardMedic: Empowering staff and patients to communicate across any barrier In this interview, anaesthetist Rachael Grimaldi tells us about CardMedic, the organisation she founded to empower staff and patients to communicate across any barrier. Rachael explains how their tools can be used to support vulnerable groups and reduce inequalities. 6 Cervical screening when deaf In this blog, published by Jo's cervical cancer trust, two deaf women share their experiences of a cervical screening (and colposcopy) appointment, as well as their top tips for others. 7 Accessible and inclusive communication within primary care: What matters to people with diverse communication needs The primary care team have an important role in making people feel welcomed, listened to and taken seriously. Yet we often hear examples about people who have not had their communication needs met within primary care. This includes people with sensory impairments. This report from National Voices sets out the key issues faced by people with specific communication needs within primary care and what they feel would make the biggest difference, as well as key actions primary care leaders and teams can take to support inclusive communication. 8 Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland In January 2022 the Scottish Government asked for an independent review of the audiology services in Scotland in the context of failings in the standards of care provided in the NHS Lothian Paediatrics Services and made a series of recommendations. 9 The Safety Gap: Safety and accessibility of medicines and medical devices for people with sensory impairment This report for the Patient Safety Commissioner for England, commissioned from Professor Margaret Watson, highlights serious gaps and deficiencies in the way that people with visual and/or hearing impairment or loss (referred to as sensory impairment) are able to access and use medicines and medical devices safely. The report presents the results of a short-term study to explore the challenges experienced by patients with sensory impairment in relation to their safe and effective access to and use of medicines and medical devices and offers a number of recommendations. 10 Kingdon review: terms of reference Dr Camilla Kingdon has been appointed by the Secretary of State to chair an independent review of children's hearing services. The review will consider NHS England’s response to the service failures in paediatric audiology; how the relevant governance arrangements between NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care could be improved and identify lessons learned; and how NHS England’s handling of any future service failures in similar services could be improved and identify lessons learned. 11 Still ignored: The fight for accessible healthcare In this report, RNID and SignHealth demonstrate that the NHS does not have the systems in place to fulfil the right to accessible healthcare for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. This new research shows that the NHS often fails to meet the fundamental needs of people who are deaf or have hearing loss, clearly violating the rights set out in the Equality Act over 15 years ago. Do you have a resource you'd like to share? We’d love to hear about it - leave a comment below or join the hub to share your own post.
  16. Content Article
    The authors of this JAMA article describe the experience of a family member who was in critical care, and who is deaf. They outline a lack of awareness amongst healthcare professionals about their relative's deafness and highlight the lack of understanding in how to communicate with her. They go on to outline a number of approaches to communicating with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  17. Content Article
    Communication barriers are the number one reason Deaf people have poorer health compared to hearing people. This blog by the organisation SignHealth gives 12 tips for healthcare workers and non-clinical staff on how to communicate with Deaf people. It also describes the difficulties Deaf people face when booking appointments and describes why remote consultations are problematic for Deaf people.
  18. News Article
    NHS trusts across England are scrambling to trace thousands of children for urgent hearing tests amid fears that cases of infant deafness may have been missed for years. An internal NHS report has exposed poor-quality testing within paediatric audiology departments at five hospitals and warned of systemic failings. At another NHS trust, almost 1,500 children were found to have missed out on appointments dating back to 2012. Vital quality inspections of departments checking infants for hearing loss were stopped ten years ago. Whistleblowers who previously worked for the NHS’s newborn hearing screening programme have revealed that concerns were raised shortly before they were told to stop carrying out checks. They say that thousands of children may have been mistreated for deafness and hearing loss in the past decade. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 25 June 2023
  19. Content Article
    Many people who usually go to their GP for ear wax removal have recently been told this service is no longer available on the NHS. As a result, they are now being advised to manage their own ear wax build-up or to seek ear wax removal from private providers. However, advice on self-management is inconsistent and sometimes dangerous, and the cost of private removal can make it unaffordable.  The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) wants to make sure everyone is offered clear advice on managing excess ear wax safely themselves and has access to professional removal on the NHS if self-management doesn’t work. This campaign page highlights research by RNID and outlines how people can get involved in the campaign by writing to their MP and local healthcare organisations.
  20. News Article
    The charity SignHealth has been awarded a national contract with NHS England to supply the mental health service Talking Therapies in British Sign Language. The new specialist service will help to support deaf people who are experiencing anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. This marks the first time NHS England have granted a national contract to a deaf specialist service and will hope to bridge the gap and tackle the health inequalities recognised after a recent freedom of information (FOI) request found that around 100 NHS trusts do not comply with accessible information standards (AIS). Prior to the contract, deaf people experiencing mental health related issues would have to rely on funding from their Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to approve additional communication assistance on an individual basis. Waiting for approval of the funding for British Sign Language (BSL) therapy services meant that many deaf patients were having to wait considerably longer than their able hearing counterparts. Many CCGs do not grant additional funding and would not offer these kinds of services to deaf people, often resulting in ‘postcode lottery’. Dr Sarah Powell, Clinical Lead at SignHealth, said: "Deaf people are twice as likely to experience mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety compared to hearing people. This is a serious and sometimes life-threatening health inequality. Therapy delivered in sign language has been proven to have higher recovery rates and we are delighted that this contract removes the funding barrier so that more Deaf people are able to access life-changing treatment." Read full story Source: NHE, 9 March 2022
  21. News Article
    Coleen McSorley, who has been deaf from birth, was left upset and struggling to understand the details of her cancer diagnosis. Now one care centre is hoping to offer more support to others facing a similar challenge. Coleen was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2020. At the time, Covid restrictions meant she was unable to bring an interpreter or her hearing parents to hospital appointments. The 56-year-old said she was given wads of literature about her cancer - but like many people who have been deaf from birth, she struggles to read. "English is my second language after British Sign Language," said the cleaner, from Stirling. "At the hospital a big barrier was they were wearing too many masks. They were all talking at me but I didn't understand what they were saying, it was horrendous. "I felt frustrated because I wanted them to pull down their masks so I could try to lip read a little bit, but they wouldn't and it was very confusing." Coleen, who had stage three cancer, was treated with chemotherapy and had a mastectomy, found a local Maggie centre who supported her. Yvonne McIntosh, an oncology nurse and centre head at the Maggie's Forth Valley cancer care drop-in centre, says that even with an interpreter, a lot of information could be lost in translation. "A lot of sense and meaning is lost and things can land differently so they don't come across with the same context," she said. "When Coleen came to us she didn't know what the pills were that she was taking. "She didn't understand about her treatment and didn't know how her medication worked for her." Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 February 2022
  22. News Article
    Deaf people are twice as likely to suffer mental health problems than those with hearing, a report has found. The All Wales Deaf Mental Health and Wellbeing Group said help in Wales was behind the rest of the UK and it wants to see significant improvements. It also described the inequalities faced by deaf people trying to access mental health support as "really frustrating". The Welsh government said it would consider the findings of the report. Ffion Griffiths, 23, from Neath, has been deaf since birth, and accessing child and adolescent mental health services in Wales has been a problem over the years. She had to travel to England to get the support she needed. "It's really frustrating because deaf people in England have more opportunities," she said. It means they can be treated and get better quicker but for us, how can we do that?" "How can we expect to recover if we don't have access to the services or any pathways for us to follow to get the treatment that we need in Wales?" Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 December 2021
  23. Content Article
    This campaign by the independent statutory body Healthwatch aims to help make sure more people get healthcare information in the way they need it. Patients need clear, accessible information in order to make informed decisions about their health and care. The Accessible Information Standard gives disabled people and people with a sensory loss the legal right to get health and social care information they can understand and communications support if they need it. 'Your Care, Your Way' is asking whether the standard is being delivered by services, and whether it goes far enough. The campaign aims to: Find out how well health and care services are delivering the Accessible Information Standard. Make sure that, if the standard covers you, you know your rights. Find out who else has problems understanding information about their healthcare and needs to be covered by the standard. The 'Your Care, Your Way' campaign webpage features: Opportunities to share positive and negative experiences of care Information on rights under the Accessible Information Standard Stories from 6,200 people about their experiences of healthcare information Healthwatch's findings around whether NHS organisations are meeting the Accessible Information Standard Recommendations on how to fix the issues.
  24. Content Article
    This study in Occupational Medicine examined the impact of the introduction of face masks during the Covid-19 pandemic on D/deaf healthcare professionals (HCPs). The study found that D/deaf HCPs felt left behind, isolated and frustrated by a lack of transparent masks and reasonable adjustments to meet their communication needs. This resulted in some leaving their roles, and loss of experienced, qualified HCPs has a significant economic and workforce impact, particularly during a pandemic. The authors call for urgent action to ensure D/deaf HCPs are provided with the workplace support required under the Equality Act (2010).
  25. News Article
    Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS FT has launched a deaf digital inclusion project, to find the best practice for communicating with deaf and deafblind patients. The project will look at the barriers faced by the patients around digital communications, and how to help the staff become more deaf aware. The deaf and deafblind patients supported by the trust, their carers, staff, and members of deaf wellbeing groups and networks, are taking part in the project to help provide the best digital communications support to meet deaf patients’ needs. The project is led by the trust’s deaf services team which provides a range of support to deaf and deafblind people aged 18 and over, who mainly use British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate, who also have mental health problems. Emmanuel Chan, Clinical Nurse Specialist for the deaf services team, :explained: “People who are oral and require lip reading can find video appointments a challenge if others on the call are not fully deaf aware and talk over one another. Alongside our project, our team aims to help our staff become more deaf aware to avoid this happening.” Read full story Source: NHE, 26 April 2021
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