How accessible do people who are deaf or hard of hearing find health and social care services
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Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin are invested in ensuring that people fromvall areas of our community can access and use their local health and social carevservices. This study aimed to address how people who are deaf or hard of hearing find the accessibility of health and social care services in Telford and Wrekin.
Whilst in general they are considered accessible; the preventative and support services are not being delivered in a way that meets their needs. There appears to be a correlation between services that ask their users what their information and communication needs are and those that are viewed as accessible, suggesting that compliance with the Accessible Information Standard encourages delivery of accessible services.
Small incremental changes were suggested by respondents as ways to improve the accessibility of local health and social care services. These included the use of email, text messaging, assistive listening services and longer appointments. Respondents also suggested training for providers in communication with those who are deaf and hard of hearing.
It appears that there is some variability in how those who are deaf or hard of hearing view the accessibility of health and social care services in Telford and Wrekin. However, no services were indicated to be accessible by all respondents. This suggests that there may be additional individual factors at play. By asking people about their information and communication needs, the accessibility of local health and social care services can begin to improve the experiences of their users.