Our voice in health and social care: the experiences of BSL users in Lancashire
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Healthwatch Lancashire ran an engagement project to explore the experiences of the Deaf community who use British Sign Language (BSL) when accessing health and social care services. Feedback was gathered from 149 people through focus groups, case studies and an online survey. A mystery shopping activity was also conducted.
Two main themes were identified through engaging with individuals and carers:
- Barriers when trying to book a medical appointment due to the requirement to book an appointment by phone and only telephone appointments being available.
- Barriers during a medical appointment due to a lack of interpreters or unreliable video interpretation, resulting in distressing appointment experiences.
These barriers resulted in delayed appointments (leading to delayed treatment), a lack of privacy due to family and friends having to interpret for them, being treated inappropriately such as professionals shouting at individuals, and people not understanding diagnoses or results due to professionals writing information down which isn’t accessible for the individual.
Feedback received from professionals who work within health and social care (or other related industries such as third sector) revealed that over half of professionals had received Deaf awareness training and the majority of respondents felt confident in supporting Deaf individuals who use BSL. The importance of an interpreter being available either in person or online was raised by respondents. Professionals suggested making written materials more accessible as well as a need for more funding to support the Deaf community’s access.
The mystery shopping activity revealed that there is a disparity in support provided between and within services, including whether services provide BSL interpreters or whether individuals must arrange their own. Feedback collected from individuals, carers and professionals and intelligence received through the mystery shopping activity, highlighted that some NHS services are not fulfilling their legal requirements, under the Equality Act 2010, including providing an interpreter at appointments for people who are Deaf.
These findings have helped to formulate recommendations for the attention of Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Lancashire County Council (LCC) to help improve the accessibility and experience of health and social care services for the Deaf community.