Deaf people criticise Coventry hospital over interpreter delays

A deaf man who spent 24 hours in hospital without the help of an interpreter said staff shouted his name despite being told he couldn't hear.

Terry Murray, from Rugby, is among a group of NHS patients who have felt frustrated or vulnerable at the city hospital due to a shortage of sign language interpreters.

Coventry and Warwickshire Association of the Deaf (CWAD) said it had received more than 100 complaints about delays in accessing interpreters at Coventry University Hospital.

The trust, which runs the hospital, said its translation services provider LanguageLine Solutions would work with CWAD.

Mr Murray told BBC Radio CWR he was taken to hospital with possible brain problems and asked for an interpreter but was not provided with one within 24 hours.

He said he had a CT scan and an MRI, but the staff couldn't explain anything to him because no one knew sign language.

“They just took me, put me in, did a scan and then told me to leave,” he said.

Mr Murray said his assistant arrived and asked staff if they knew he was deaf because they were shouting his name.

Another CWAD user said such situations could have security implications.

Helen Patterson, from Solihull, said she asked for an interpreter four or five times before being admitted to hospital but there was no one there when she arrived.

She said it was a waste of her time and money, adding that she was sometimes offered interpreter services via video call, but she said there were often connection problems.

“If we're sitting there as deaf people, we don't know if there's a fire alarm, if there's a bomb, or if there's an emergency,” she said.

“We risk it if we don’t have an interpreter with us. We are very vulnerable.”

National hearing loss charity RNID told the BBC the NHS was “in breach of the Equality Act”, adding that under the accessible information standard the NHS must provide interpreters and accessible means of communication when required.

According to the RNID report, only 7% of patients across England who need communication support say they are always provided with it, and a third say they are never provided.

The RNID said there was serious and widespread abuse affecting more than six million adults in England.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the NHS has a “legal duty to ensure that all its services are as accessible to deaf people as they are to everyone else”.

An NHS spokesman said all services have a responsibility to ensure clear and easy communication using information methods that all patients understand, including BSL.

Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organizations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.

The spokesman added: “NHS England has just updated its set of standards to improve accessibility of information, which includes the provision of BSL interpreters online or in face-to-face meetings.”

CWAD center manager Julie Blackley said she wanted to highlight the difficulties after receiving more than 100 complaints and a further 190 since then, for a total of around 300 complaints.

“We need to take a stand,” she said. “Enough, enough. It's not fair for the deaf to suffer.

“People hire foreign translators straight away, which is great, it’s a great service for them. It's just barrier after barrier for deaf people.”

A spokesman for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) said the trust was committed to providing accessible services to all patients, including those using BSL, and 98% of orders through LanguageLine were completed.

“However, we are sorry to hear that some patients have reported that their needs were not met during our care,” they added. “Every patient deserves to feel respected and safe in our care.”

The trust said it was committed to engaging and consulting with local deaf and community groups to address concerns and welcomed the opportunity to “listen, learn and improve” its services.

A spokesperson for LanguageLine Solutions said the company was happy to work with the association to identify the issues they were facing.

“We will continue to work closely with UHCW to improve services and practices, resulting in more consistent levels of support for deaf and deafblind patients,” they said.