The recently released BSL Advisory Board’s health and social care report, Locked Out, confirms what we see every day – in our work with deaf patients and NHS professionals. The report has the answers to make services safer and more accessible, and SignHealth is ready to help you achieve that.
The report makes one thing clear: communication and access are not optional – they are clinical safety issues that must be addressed. Deaf people’s health inequalities stem from avoidable system failures that put safety, consent, and outcomes at risk. This is a matter of patient protection, legal compliance and professional responsibility.
SignHealth’s resources and training can support NHS and social care teams to meet their legal duties under the Accessible Information Standard, the Equality Act, and the BSL Act. Deaf-inclusive care is safer care. It builds trust, improves patient experience, and ensures every deaf person receives the same standard of care as everyone else.
Investing in culturally competent, accessible support, designed by and for deaf people, is one of the most effective ways to respond. When deaf patients can communicate directly in British Sign Language (BSL) with professionals who understand their lived experience, care is safer, more efficient and more cost-effective, with better outcomes for patients.
Why This Matters
Accessible communication is a core determinant of health. When deaf BSL users cannot understand or be understood, they face:
- Poorer outcomes and higher clinical risk
- Repeated and longer appointments
- Delayed diagnosis and treatment
- Increased costs.
Implementing the Advisory Board’s recommendations will help ICBs, Trusts and Local Authorities to:
- Meet their legal duties under the Accessible Information Standard, the Equality Act and the BSL Act
- Deliver on health inequalities and patient safety priorities
- Demonstrate person-centred care and co-production with communities who experience the greatest barriers.
What SignHealth offers
As the UK’s leading deaf health charity, SignHealth provides evidence‑informed, deaf‑led solutions that support NHS bodies, ICBs, commissioners, trusts, and local authorities.
We can work with you to:
Make communication safe and accessible
- Ensure you are meeting the Accessible Information Standard and the BSL Advisory Board’s recommendations
- Provide translation support and make sure your content is accessible and culturally aware.
Grow specialist services where deaf people are most at risk
- Mental health: provide BSL Talking Therapy in every ICB area so deaf people get the same offer as hearing people
- Social care: increase deaf-led supporting living options so deaf people get the right support first time and can move towards more independence
- Safeguarding: sustain deaf-led, BSL-accessible support and make sure local safeguarding and domestic abuse support pathways are accessible.
Build skills and confidence in your workforce
- Provide deaf health accessibility training
- Offer our deaf-led expertise on service design.
Why Partner with SignHealth
Next Steps
We welcome conversations with ICB partners, Trusts, Local Authorities and commissioners to explore collaborative pilots, pathway redesign, consultancy support, training programmes and ensuring the accessibility of statutory services.
Please contact: Jordan Goucher, Head of Business Development at jgoucher@signhealth.org.uk
