Breaking down the barriers
Download (PDF 1.15 MB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Kingston-upon-Hull and Healthwatch East Riding of Yorkshire had heard during the Covid-19 pandemic the difficulties faced by deaf and hard of hearing people accessing GP services. They worked with the Hull and East Riding Centre for the Deaf to engage with the deaf and hard of hearing community. They undertook surveys of the public and of GP staff. They spoke to 10 GP practice staff and 51 members of the public.
The majority of GP practices said that they used emails and SMS texting as their main way of engaging with deaf and hard of hearing people. The majority of GP practices would arrange for a translator, if the patient requested them to do so. Only 2 GP practices said that they had a system in place (ACCURX software) that would alert the member of staff who was booking the appointment to ask the patient if they required a BSL translator.
Nearly a quarter of GP Practices that responded were unsure of what methods were available to them to support an individual to understand what was being communicated about their condition, and only a further 23% said that they relied on interpreters.
Most GP practice staff hadn’t received any deaf awareness training.
Most deaf and hard of hearing people hadn’t been asked if they needed support or assistance when getting in contact with the GP practice to book an appointment. They had to rely on other people to book an appointment for them.
Only one person had experienced their GP practice arranging a BSL interpreter for them. Nearly three in five said that they had to attend appointments with members of their family to interpret for them. People found it embarrassing and sometimes inappropriate to have family members to translate for them, as they had no privacy.
Over half had experienced difficulties in accessing routine appointments since the pandemic, including difficulties booking appointments.
Most people had experienced problems understanding what the GP or nurse said during appointments. Sometimes this was because they were wearing masks.