The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (RBCH) is educating staff about the importance of providing British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters to deaf patients.
While the Trust has offered the free service for several years, new research by staff working in the Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) has shown it isn’t being used to its full potential. Reasons preventing full use of the service include misconceptions about how deaf people may communicate and patients not wanting to bother staff.
The team is now campaigning to raise awareness about how important it is for staff to offer, and for patients to take advantage of, the Trust’s BSL Interpreter Service. A set of new resources for staff education have been developed, as well as a poster encouraging staff and patients to use the service for all appointments with deaf patients.
Emma Sanders, accredited British Sign Language Interpreter working with the Trust, said: “There are lots of reasons why staff and patients might not be making full use of the service at present; many patients feel they don’t want to be a bother.
“Common preconceptions about how deaf people communicate also exacerbate the problem. It is sometimes assumed deaf people can communicate adequately by writing things down on paper but English and British Sign Language are very different and there is no literal translation. If the patient’s first language is sign language, this means that written English is their second or third language. To ensure patients have full access to Trust services a BSL interpreter is required.”
Carolyn Polden, PALS manager, said: “At our Trust, patient safety is our highest priority, so minimising any potential problems in communication between staff and patients is crucial.
“Our patients’ comfort and equal access to services is also paramount, so we have been working closely with our team of British Sign Language interpreters to produce comprehensive resources for staff about communicating effectively with deaf patients, as well as producing a new poster to encourage patients to make use of the free service.”
Deaf patient John Fell of Bournemouth who visited the Royal Bournemouth Hospital on Tuesday 5 January urged deaf patients not to be shy in requesting or accepting the services of a BSL interpreter. He said: “The service has been fantastic for me today. Without my interpreter, I would have felt really lost, but with an interpreter I have equal communication and access to my hospital services. I would absolutely encourage others to use the service.”
The Trust only works with fully qualified and registered interpreters who carry a yellow ID badge with their unique registration number and recommends patients to book an interpreter through PALS for any appointments, even if they have access to support from an unqualified interpreter by way of a family member or friend. This ensures all medical terminology is fully explained and accessible.
To find out more about booking a BSL interpreter for your appointment at RBCH, please call PALS on 01202 704886, email pals@rbch.nhs.uk or visithttp://www.rbch.nhs.uk/our_services/support_services/pals.
For further information about working with fully qualified BSL interpreters on the National Register, please visit www.nrcpd.org.uk.
