Deaf people criticise hospital interpreter delays

A deaf man who spent 24 hours in hospital without the support of an interpreter said staff were shouting out his name despite being told he could not hear.

Terry Murray, from Rugby, is among a group of NHS patients to have been left feeling frustrated or vulnerable at a city hospital because of a lack of sign language interpreters.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Association for the Deaf (CWAD) said it had received more than 100 complaints over delays in getting access to interpreters at University Hospital Coventry.

The trust running the hospital said its interpreter service provider LanguageLine Solutions would be engaging with CWAD.

Helen Patterson, from Solihull, said she requested an interpreter four or five times in advance before hospital appointments but none had been there when she arrived.

She said it felt like a waste of her time and money, adding that she had sometimes been offered an interpreter over a video link but said there were often connection issues.

"If we're sat 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're at risk not having an interpreter present with us. We're very vulnerable."

CWAD centre manager Julie Blackley said she wanted to raise awareness of the difficulties after receiving more than 100 complaints, with a further 190 lodged since to make nearly 300 complaints in total.

"We need to make a stand," she said. "Enough is enough. It's not fair for the deaf to suffer.

"People get foreign translators straight away and that's beautiful, that's a beautiful service for them. For deaf people, there's just barrier after barrier."

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) said the trust was committed to providing accessible services for all patients, included those who use BSL, and 98% of bookings through LanguageLine had been fulfilled.

"However, we are sorry to hear of the experience some patients have shared about their needs not being met whilst in our care," they added. "Every patient deserves to feel respected and safe in our care."

The trust said it was set to engage and consult with local deaf and community groups to address issues and welcomed the opportunity to "listen, learn and improve" its services.

A spokesperson for LanguageLine Solutions said the company was pleased to engage with the association to identify the challenges they have faced.

"We will continue to work closely with UHCW to improve services and ways of working, resulting in a more consistent level of support for deaf and deafblind patients," they said.