How long before a deaf person dies in hospital for want of an interpreter?

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/20/deaf-person-hospital-interpreter-nhs-equality

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Giving birth to a baby is a beautiful experience, but it is also a scary time too, because of the potential for things to go wrong. So imagine what it feels like to give birth if you are profoundly deaf, and because the hospital hasn't provided you with a sign language interpreter, you are unable to understand what the doctors and nurses around you are saying.

This is what happened to Nadia Hassan at University College Hospital in London just before Christmas. Not only was no interpreter provided during the birth of her son, but there was also very little communication support given during the days afterwards when her baby was receiving medical treatment, which meant she and her husband, Hulusi Bati, didn't know what was going on.

The hospital's response beggars belief. They say their service provider had "limited availability". But this ignores the fact that there are numerous other interpreting agencies in the capital. Did anyone make any calls? Is there a system in place for situations like this when there is high demand?

The hospital says it is taking steps to provide an "electronic interpreting service", presumably using iPads, but you have to question how effective that would be during the final stages of labour, or amid the chaos of a medical emergency.

It wouldn't be so bad if this were an isolated event. However, incidents like this keep happening, despite the fact the Equality Act is supposed to give deaf people equal access.

In March last year, it was revealed that a deaf woman with appendicitis had been left isolated and unable to communicate for 12 days in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, without a sign language interpreter. Amazingly, the ombudsman, which upheld her complaint, found that as a result, it was "impossible to say" that she had given informed consent for her surgery.

Then there is the case of Michael May, a 27-year-old BSL user from Plymouth. May had two foot operations at Derriford Hospital, but said he had not understood the procedures he was going through. In all his consultations and procedures, he only saw a sign language interpreter once. He told the Plymouth Herald how he wanted to understand his treatment, but couldn't, and this made him feel like a "second-class citizen".

Even when interpreters are provided, the quality is not always good enough. Sign language interpreters should be registered, but in last year's Our Health in Your Hands survey, carried out on behalf of a range of deaf charities, 48% of deaf respondents reported that they had been unhappy with the standard of the interpreter they were given.

What also puts deaf people at risk is the way that, in the absence of an interpreter, hospitals often presume a family member is the best person to help, as in Hassan and Bati's case, where their sister-in-law had to help translate. But what if the relative is inexperienced (as their sister-in-law was), and makes a crucial mistake? Or what if they find themselves in a position they are unprepared for, like Matt Dixon, who had to break the news to his deaf father that he was going to die? As Dixon said: "I was a forced volunteer."

Stories like these have prompted deaf people to start campaigning for better rights to communication support. Last year, a Facebook group called Spit the Dummy and Campaign for a BSL Act was set up to campaign for an act of parliament giving legal protection for BSL; it now has over 11,000 members. Meanwhile, a group called Pardon. I'm Deaf. When Will You Listen? has campaigned for the communication support needs of deaf people who do not use sign language. Working alongside leading deaf charities, the two groups have met with Sir Malcolm Bruce MP (chair of the all party parliamentary group on deafness) to discuss his proposed communication support bill.

Change can't come soon enough. It is no exaggeration that it's only a matter of time before a deaf person is left with a permanent disability, or dies, because of a communication breakdown.

People say that old people shouldn't go into hospital because they might never come out. Could you blame deaf people in Britain for feeling the same way?