SignHealth representatives Robin and Jordan attended this year’s NHS Confed Expo in Manchester. One of the UK’s leading events for health and care professionals. Over two days, they engaged with NHS organisations, healthcare providers, businesses, and industry leaders to champion accessible and inclusive services for deaf people.
The event brought together thousands of people from across the health and social care sector to share ideas, explore innovation, and discuss the future of healthcare. For us, it was an important opportunity to raise awareness of the barriers deaf people continue to face when accessing services and to encourage organisations to consider how they can improve accessibility and inclusion.
Throughout the conference, Robin and Jordan spoke with exhibitors and delegates about the accessibility of their services and how they engage with deaf communities. They also attended panel discussions covering topics such as health inequalities, digital inclusion, and service transformation. We used these opportunities to highlight the importance of deaf access and ask how organisations are meeting their responsibilities under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS).
Many of these conversations were informed by the experiences and feedback shared by deaf people. By bringing deaf voices into national discussions, we ensure that the needs, perspectives, and lived experiences of deaf communities were represented in conversations about the future of health and social care services.
The event reinforced the importance of working directly with deaf people when designing and improving services. Accessible communication is not just good practice, it is essential to ensuring deaf people can access safe, effective, and equitable healthcare.
What you can do now?
If your organisation wants to improve accessibility, strengthen engagement with deaf communities, or better understand your responsibilities under the Accessible Information Standard, we can help. Our Training and Consultancy services provide expert guidance, practical solutions, and opportunities to work directly with deaf people to create more inclusive services.
Ready to make your services more accessible? Book our Training and Consultancy services today.
We are Still Sick Of It
Health inequalities are impacting outcomes for the deaf community. Our campaign is called Still Sick Of It, because it’s not right and it’s absolutely avoidable.
Our policy team worked hard to change the system. After publishing the Still Ignored report in collaboration with RNID, SignHealth has:
- Presented to over 500 NHS professionals (including NHS complaints managers and ICBs) to spread awareness of the communication responsibilities of health services.
- Met with the Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms and the staff of the Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
- Led over 90 Deaf Health Roadshow workshops to raise awareness of healthcare rights.
- And created a template letter for deaf patients to give to health services to explain communication needs.
What can the NHS do?
- SignHealth offers training and consultancy to support health services in becoming more accessible
- Use the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)!
- Always check in advance what a patient’s language and communication needs are
- Book the correct communication support – BSL interpreters, for example
- Ensure health professionals have deaf awareness training and an understanding of the needs of deaf patients and families
