Call for GPs to improve services for deaf patients

HEALTH providers are being urged to ensure deaf patients are given proper support as research shows many who rely on sign language can be left without an interpreter during GP appointments.
By The Newsroom
Published 7th May 2012, 13:09 BST

Action on Hearing Loss is among the organisations calling for better services for patients with a hearing loss, and for health providers to commission interpreting services that use only appropriately qualified sign language interpreters for deaf patients.

It comes after research showed 41 per cent of surveyed people who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first language have left a health appointment feeling confused about their medical condition, because the interpretation was not up to scratch, and 68 per cent said they have asked for an interpreter to be booked for a GP appointment but did not get one.

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Jackie Ballard, chief executive of Action on Hearing Loss, said: “It’s essential that there is clear communication between patients and health professionals, so that medical information is conveyed without any confusion. We want standards in communication for people with a hearing loss to be improved and meet the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010.”