Building connections with our Deaf communities

Approximately 12 million adults in the UK are Deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus. An estimated 1.2 million adults in the UK have hearing loss severe enough that they would not be able to hear most conversational speech. When you consider the North West has a population of 7.5 million, it means there are likely tens of thousands of people in the region who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

We have built strong relationships with our Deaf communities over the years, and we recently hosted an engagement session with service users at the Deaf Village North West in Blackburn. In the session, we talked about the various ways Deaf people can access our 999 service when in need of emergency assistance.

This includes the national British Sign Language (BSL) 999 Emergency Video Relay Service which allows Deaf patients and hard-of-hearing people to communicate with us. They can download the app and initiate a call to 999 through a BSL interpreter appearing on their screen.

A Deaf Village North West service user, Habib, says: “I used the BSL 999 app due to having troubles at home that left me extremely anxious and worried, leading to me collapsing due to a panic attack.

“It is extremely useful having the BSL 999 app as it allows us to connect to the ambulance service quickly in an emergency. It has improved my life as before it, I had never been able to contact the emergency services myself. It is so easy to use and gives me peace of mind knowing I have help there without any communication barriers. I feel a lot more confident should I need to call for help in the future. I finally feel safe in my own home.”

Another Deaf Village North West service user, Simon, says:

“Before the BSL 999 app, I would have to ask family members to call which wasn’t ideal as when someone calls on your behalf there can be a communication breakdown, which I have experienced. This app allows me to be more independent and not rely on other people.”

We talked to the group via their BSL interpreter, and we were joined by Paramedic Yvette Brown, who taught the group how to do CPR and how to effectively use a defibrillator during the event of a cardiac arrest.

If you are part of a community group and would like us to visit, please email: Talk.tous@nwas.nhs.uk

Images courtesy of Steven from Deaf Village North West.