One of the problems facing health services is that of communicating effectively essential information concerning their services and care plans with deaf people.

Deafness brings an additional adverse factor to the experience of deaf people in contact with the Health Service even though their health problems may be similar to those of hearing people. Planners and providers of health services need to recognise their responsibilities and the rights of deaf people to have full information and access to services available to the community as a whole.

Under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, it is unlawful for a service provider (including Health Services) to discriminate by offering a lower standard of service or providing a service in a worse manner to deaf people.

SCoD is very concerned about the apparent difficulties Health Services are having in communicating effectively with deaf people and suggests that there be further study of this area of potential difficulty and ways of producing improvements. Appropriate communication support for those receiving investigation and treatment, whether in primary or secondary care, should be provided according to a skilled and agreed assessment of need, that follows the patient throughout the Health process. This communication support provision should reduce error and ensure informed consent of the deaf person.

The Scottish Council on Deafness therefore recommends that the following good practice be implemented:

1. Health services should give consideration to improving the accessibility of the services to deaf people, particularly with regard to telecommunication for making appointments, enquiries, etc. and vice versa.
   
   
2. Health services should consider the needs of deaf people who are out- patients, e.g. in the waiting areas, (loop systems, textphones, amplified payphones, visual aids, etc.
   
   
3. Health services should consider the needs of deaf people who are in-patients, e.g. in the wards (amplified payphones, textphones, teletext televisions, etc).
   
   
4. Health services should be responsible for the provision of and payment for appropriately trained and registered communication service providers in hospitals and in primary care, e.g. Sign Language Interpreters, Lipspeakers, Notetakers, Deafblind Communicators (see Bibliography 2.1 - 2.3 below), etc.
   
   
5. Health services should consider the use of videophone technology which should enable Deaf sign language users to have access to a Registered Sign Language interpreter at all times when in contact with the health services.
   
   
6. Health services personnel should receive deaf and deafblind awareness training; this should be provided both in pre-service training, and in in-service training on an ongoing basis.
   
   
7. Health promotion and other information material (including signed and captioned videos) should be developed in appropriate language (e.g. British Sign Language or plain English) and with illustrations, taking into account the culture, identity and language of deaf people.
   
   
8. Health services should be encouraged to implement the Good Practice: Equality for disabled people in the NHS in Scotland: Access to services, issued by the Scottish Executive Health Department [NHS MEL (1999) 67].
   
   
9. Each health board should have at least one person who has a thorough understanding of deaf issues. Such person(s) should be responsible for ensuring that the health services are accessible to those who are deaf and particularly to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation.
   
   
10. Health service personnel should be fully aware of the Disability Discrimination Act and other relevant legislation.
    
    
11. Deaf people should have full and real involvement in the planning, setting of priorities, provision and monitoring of health services.
    
    
12. Health services should encourage the employment of deaf people to facilitate service use by deaf people.