Sounding out services: Accessing health and social care for those with hearing loss in North Lincolnshire

This report is by Healthwatch North Lincolnshire and focuses on the challenges, which deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people face when accessing health and social care in North Lincolnshire and illustrates the opinions of service users. The findings of this report are based upon the results of two surveys; one with service users and one with GP surgeries. The local voluntary organisation, Sounds Right, kindly assisted in the creation of our public survey and helped to promote it within the deaf community.

There are recommendations in this report.

• All health and social care service providers in North Lincolnshire should consult with their hearing impaired clients to ensure that they have up to date information regarding preferred format and communication details.

• GP practices that do not have visual indicators in their waiting areas should consider installing these as part of any refurbishment to help inform those with hearing loss about their appointment.

• GP practices who do not have systems, to flag up whether patients have hearing loss, should ensure systems are in place to identify these patients’ needs when they attend.

• Managers of GP practices, dentists and SGH should ensure that their staff understand the Accessible Information Standard and that services meet the requirements.

• As part of their standard disability and equalities training, GP practices should ensure deaf awareness training for all frontline staff is included in this provision.

• Whenever possible a choice of male or female interpreter should be offered, ensuring this is suitable to treatment provided.

• All health and social care service providers in North Lincolnshire to ensure that they give those with hearing loss the opportunity to feedback on the communication help they have received. This should be in their preferred communication format.

• Feedback from the GP survey suggests that not all Practices are aware of the communications support that has been commissioned. North Lincolnshire CCG to ensure that all providers who can access this commissioned support are informed and updated of this service.

There are follow up actions in this report.

The follow up actions relate to the distribution of the report and expected responses.