{"id":139299,"date":"2018-06-11T01:20:06","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T01:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/the-deaf-patients-left-behind-by-the-nhs\/"},"modified":"2018-06-11T01:20:06","modified_gmt":"2018-06-11T01:20:06","slug":"the-deaf-patients-left-behind-by-the-nhs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freeonlinetranslators.net\/news\/english\/the-deaf-patients-left-behind-by-the-nhs\/","title":{"rendered":"The deaf patients ‘left behind’ by the NHS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jeff
Image caption Jeff Parfitt, who was born deaf, does not like using online interpretation services. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A lack of face-to-face interpreters is meaning deaf patients are missing key operations and being informed of serious medical issues - such as a miscarriage - via a tablet computer, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has learned. Many of those affected say they want to be treated as equals by the NHS.<\/p>\n

When Jeff Parfitt unexpectedly woke up during a biopsy endoscopy, he wanted an interpreter to explain what was happening.<\/p>\n

But there were not any available.<\/p>\n

He panicked, pulling the endoscope - a tube with a tiny camera on the end - out of his body.<\/p>\n

It was a vital procedure, but it had to be postponed.<\/p>\n

Mr Parfitt, who was born deaf, was left shaken.<\/p>\n

Image caption Video signing in action. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The hospital where Mr Parfitt is regularly receiving treatment for his lymphoma has started using video interpreters, on a system called Sign Live.<\/p>\n

It allows users to pick up a tablet, dial a number and instantly be connected to a video interpreter.<\/p>\n

Developers say the video-based BSL Services is "life-changing" and can offer "inclusion, accessibility and equality" to the deaf community. <\/p>\n

But some British Sign Language users with serious health conditions say NHS hospitals are using the service in inappropriate situations, and that they are routinely experiencing technical problems - sometimes during serious appointments.<\/p>\n

This has been the case for Mr Parfitt in the past, when the system has failed mid-conversation, making him "quite frustrated and angry".<\/p>\n

The 49-year-old says that even if the system was reliable, he would rather communicate with someone in person.<\/p>\n

"I can see their body language. I can get that message clearer," he explains to us via a face-to-face interpreter.<\/p>\n

"When you have a flat message [on a tablet], there's no emotion there."<\/p>\n

Many sign language users prefer to use an interpreter of their choice for a medical appointment - often because they are discussing sensitive information.<\/p>\n

The face-to-face interpreter Mr Parfitt previously used, Rebecca Aust, was the one who told him he had cancer - and then helped him pass the news on to his family.<\/p>\n

'State of panic'<\/h2>\n

In contrast, one sign language user - who wished to remain anonymous - says she was told she had miscarried via a tablet.<\/p>\n

"It was the first time I'd ever had an iPad interpreter and I didn't really understand what was going on," she says. "I was in such a state of panic."<\/p>\n

Others have contacted us saying they have never been offered a face-to-face or video interpreter and have to rely on family to communicate with doctors - or writing things down on a piece of paper.<\/p>\n

The British Deaf Association says this can lead to medical terminology and diagnoses being wrongly communicated.<\/p>\n

The charity has also dealt with cases where family members have had to tell their deaf loved ones that they are dying.<\/p>\n

Image caption Amanda Holland says the easy access of interpreters is good. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some British Sign Language users, however, are in favour of the video interpreters in instances where sensitive or serious news is not being discussed.<\/p>\n

Amanda Holland is deaf and works at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where Mr Parfitt is a patient. <\/p>\n

"It's much easier now, I have an interpreter there whenever I need one," she explains. <\/p>\n

"I just get the iPad and click on the app. You wait 10 to 15 seconds, and then you are connected with the interpreter."<\/p>\n

Amanda shows us how the app works, but the system breaks. Our flowing conversation is reduced to guesswork and hand gestures. <\/p>\n

We dial up again - but are given a different interpreter. And again. And again. Until we eventually get the same one.<\/p>\n

Later, it cuts out again.<\/p>\n

Sign Live, who develop the platform, say internet speeds in NHS hospitals are often not strong enough for video interpreting services to work properly - and that medical staff must be aware of their constraints.<\/p>\n

Creator Joel Kellhofer - who was born deaf - says the technology is not intended to replace face-to-face interpreters, especially in cases where serious information is being divulged.<\/p>\n

Charities say the use of video interpreter is symptomatic of the wider problem of a lack of resources for deaf people to live as equals.<\/p>\n

But Derriford Hospital's Claire Jukes says the use of Sign Live is "not a money-saving scheme".<\/p>\n

"It's about making our services as available as possible so we can maximise the communication that we have with [deaf patients]."<\/p>\n

The NHS has not yet responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

The Department of Health and Social Care said it was "unacceptable if deaf patients are not receiving the support they need to access NHS care".<\/p>\n

It added: "We expect [NHS] trusts to make arrangements to accommodate their needs and we changed the law so that health and care providers are legally required to provide people with a disability or sensory loss with information that they can access and understand." <\/p>\n

'Wouldn't be happy'<\/h2>\n

Charities want change to come fast.<\/p>\n

"Deaf people already have a lower life expectancy, much higher likelihood of poor mental health, and are more likely to have higher cholesterol or undiagnosed diabetes," says James Watson-O'Neill, chief executive of the deaf health charity Sign Health. <\/p>\n

"Yet every day, deaf people are struggling to book appointments and communicate with doctors and nurses because they find there is no sign language interpreter. How can that be acceptable?"<\/p>\n

Mr Parfitt is also hopeful of change. He believes if those in power were deaf, changes would soon be made to the way they are treated.<\/p>\n

"You can just imagine if the world switched places and I became hearing and everyone else became deaf," he says.<\/p>\n

"People wouldn't be happy." <\/p>\n

Watch the BBC's <\/strong>Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel in the UK. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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