A damning new report, released today (24 April) by leading charities RNID and SignHealth, reveals serious and widespread health care failings affecting over 6 million adults in England who are deaf or have hearing loss.
Health services like the NHS, as well as social care services across the England are required, by law, to offer extra support if people with hearing loss struggle when accessing services. For example, being provided with an accessible alternative to the telephone to be able to book appointments or receive test results, or communication support, such as a qualified British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter to ensure they can understand appointments and procedures.
Still ignored: The fight for accessible healthcare
Despite these legal requirements, our new report, Still ignored: The fight for accessible healthcare, reveals 7 out of 10 deaf people have never been asked about their information and communication needs when accessing NHS care.
This is something that all healthcare providers should offer under the NHS Accessible Information Standard (AIS), a legal document setting out patients’ rights under the Equality Act.
Even when people are asked about their communication needs, too few receive the support they ask for. Of those who indicated they need a communication support professional to be present during an appointment (e.g. BSL interpreter or lipspeaker), only a tiny minority say this is always provided for them.
More than half of deaf people have had to rely on either a partner, family member, or friend to relay information or interpret for them at a healthcare appointment, effectively removing their right to privacy and dignity in their own healthcare.
People who have been denied the basic information and communication support they need say it has resulted in situations such as:
- Giving up trying to make an appointment or missing an appointment
- A delayed or incorrect diagnosis
- Failure to understand their diagnosis, the outcome of their appointment or how to take medication or treatment prescribed
- Almost half felt it has resulted in them not getting the follow-up care they need
The consequences are particularly felt by those who use sign language and those who require a communication support professional. In fact, around half of sign language users report not understanding their diagnosis or how to take medication/treatment given.
These failures are leading to dangerous and devastating consequences.
Enough is enough
“This report has confirmed what our community has known for a long time: the NHS is not working for deaf people.
“Every day the health of deaf people is put at risk because their right to accessible information is being ignored. This is not good enough. It must stop. And it must stop now.
“This report shows that serious diagnoses or instructions for taking medication are given without an interpreter present or provided only in English rather than BSL. This is not just dangerous; it is life-threatening. People have died because of inaccessible information and healthcare. These are not statistics – they are real people.
“In 2021, our survey showed that the AIS was not working properly for deaf people. Sadly, four years later nothing has changed. The evidence suggests that deaf people’s health is getting worse, with 88% saying lack of accessible communication affects their mental health and 82% saying it impacts their physical health.
“Deaf people’s health cannot be ignored any longer. Patients are being misdiagnosed. Lives are being put at risk. And, yes, people are dying. Enough is enough. The NHS must provide better access, and they must do this now.”
– Philippa Wynne, Director of Engagement
