The experiences of patients from the d/Deaf community

This report is by Healthwatch County Durham.

From 2016 all NHS and Adult Social Care Services by law must follow the Accessible Information Standard. This ensures anyone with a disability, impairment or sensory loss receives information they can understand and any communication support they may need. Healthwatch County Durham wanted to know if patients accessing GP practices were having their communication needs met and finding it easy and straightforward to communicate with the GP, healthcare professionals, and reception staff. Healthwatch County Durham also wanted to know from the perspective of the practice managers what systems they had in place for their d/Deaf patients.

Healthwatch County Durham surveyed 57 d/Deaf patients and 9 practice managers to get an idea of what works well and where there are improvements to be made. Healthwatch County Durham found there are discrepancies between how well the practice managers think they are meeting patients' needs and what the patients themselves said.

This report investigates the issues d/Deaf patients face and the response from the practices themselves. Recommendations are made to prevent patients from having to repeat their situation every time they arrive at the practice, technology that can be beneficial, and 

awareness training.

There are recommendations in this report.

• Deaf awareness training for all GP surgery staff.
• Investment in basic sign language training.
• More text/email/video calls to be available to communicate with d/Deaf patients.
• A note on all d/Deaf patients' records outlining their preferred communication methods and all staff to know how to access this information.
• Interpreters booked and confirmed with the patient when necessary.
• A pager system that lights up or vibrates.
• Speech-to-text app.
• Individualised preferences for communication are key to each individual patient.

There are follow up actions in this report.

• Healthwatch County Durham will share this report with statutory services and partners across the county to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the d/Deaf community. We will follow up this report in 12 months to see the improvements made.
• Please see appendix 1 for details of deaf awareness and communication training and further advice and support organisations.
• Share Accessible information (your rights) information.