Deaf People: Public Services

Baroness Eaton Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Eaton (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for bringing this important topic for debate to the House today. It is a matter that can too readily be defined as a health issue. However, as we have already heard, deafness has a profound effect on the life chances and well-being, and not just the health, of those suffering from the condition.

I speak from very limited experience but I now have a two year-old grand-daughter who has an as yet unknown level of impairment. As a family, we have seen some of the initial difficulties for her and are experiencing the challenges facing a family in understanding the issues and how we might learn to develop ways of helping her.

With almost one in six of our population living with such an impairment, I am pleased to see the Government taking action on the matter with the development of the national action plan on hearing loss. They are working with NHS England and Public Health England, and engaging with organisations that specialise in this to develop a pathway in this important and growing issue.

However, as a resident of Bradford and a member of the city council, it is deeply concerning to me that the rate of deafness among our children, at 2.3 per 1,000 children, is double the national average of one per 1,000 children. The number of active cases known to the service for deaf children in Bradford between 2012 and 2013 stands at 678, of whom 76 are classified as being profoundly deaf—that is, entirely deaf. Of the 678 children in Bradford who have a hearing impairment, 548 are in mainstream schools and an additional 89 are in schools with additionally resourced centres attached. A further 41 children are in specialist schools, not necessarily as a result of a hearing impairment.

Also of concern is the fact that this is a particular issue for our city’s Asian population. It is encouraging to see the steps being taken by our schools and authorities to allow our deaf children to benefit from a full and satisfying education.

Working with the University of Leeds, the teachers of the deaf service in Bradford are researching the development of language and literacy in multilingual and multicultural families. With a staff of more than 60 personnel, the service is able to provide specialist assistance to multilingual households with everything from full-time teaching to liaising with parents and providing speech and language therapy. It is worth noting that, of the families working with this service, 67 do not speak English but communicate with their children with hearing impairments by using sign language. Understanding the language barriers and working around them will be key to ensuring that these children have the best possible chance to advance just as other children do.

There is a protocol of transition from children’s social care to the sensory needs service in adults’ services. This will provide a specialist service to young people who are over 14 years old and are British Sign Language users. This service will routinely attend all the education reviews of these young people in order to provide advice and information. By doing so, it is hoped that the transition from children’s educational services to adult services will run more smoothly.

The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, has already mentioned the underachievement of deaf children. Certainly, the survey by the National Deaf Children’s Society showed that deaf children in Yorkshire suffered huge disadvantages in terms of GCSE grades. It is therefore concerning to note that among those qualified as specialist teachers for the deaf, the average age is now over 50, something that is sure to create a greater problem in years to come and to impact on the education of children with hearing impairment.

Responses to a DCMS seminar paper addressed the wishes of those within our society who are deaf, stating that it is far preferred that an inclusive manner in services and policies be adopted rather than an exception-based rule. This means that the mainstream should, indeed must, wherever possible, cater for the community as a whole and not simply the majority for whom hearing is not yet a problem.

An issue that frustrates those who are hearing-impaired is the general lack of knowledge, understanding and training around the issue. The Guardian newspaper published an article on 10 May highlighting the issues that deaf members of society face. In one case, a deaf patient at a hospital was unable to communicate with his doctors, nurses or those around him for 12 days because no sign language interpreter was provided.

Action on Hearing Loss published a policy statement entitled Access to Services for People with Hearing Loss in June 2012, directly addressing the issue of contacting services. They observed that people with hearing loss face very basic but fundamental hurdles when contacting organisations that only provide telephone numbers in their contact information and highlighted their awareness of the fact that staff simply hang up regularly on text relay telephone calls because the operator does not understand how to use the technology.

Further on the lack of the use of appropriate technology, the Lancet published an editorial in March 2012 highlighting the issue of deaf people physically having to go into GP surgeries in order to make an appointment, due to the lack of provision of e-mail and text software. This is something that may not be too much of a difficulty for a younger person, but for those who are ageing it becomes a real issue and something that could be solved very easily by implementation of basic technology and training of staff to understand what considerations or differences should be considered when assisting someone who does not have full hearing capacity. Aside from this, it is surely to be hoped, or rather expected, that those within our society who cannot communicate in the same ways as the majority of the population be afforded the same basic services. Access is one of the biggest barriers to deaf adults. This includes all areas of life where there is a need for communication.

In my own authority, Bradford, there has been a vast improvement in accessibility for deaf people. Deaf people now have representation on the Strategic Disability Partnership, providing a forum for full engagement, as representatives on this forum feed information from the deaf community into the partnership. There are BSL and subtitled theatre performances, opening up the world of entertainment to deaf people. Hearing loops are provided to give access to those who are hard of hearing. Representatives from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Group sit on the Bradford theatres users’ group and have been influential in generating improvements to services. Our museums have BSL videos that provide detailed information about exhibits. Our libraries have full internet access, enabling deaf people to access online information. Excellent work has been done with the police service, which now provides much improved access to communication, particularly in areas such as hate crime. Adults’ services include statutory assessment and support services where staff work in inspirational ways to support service users. An example of this is an individual budget to purchase care where the worker can communicate in BSL and has an understanding of deaf culture and community. There is also a technical service, which provides flashing or loud doorbells so that older people are not put at risk by leaving the door open or not being able to hear when the home care worker calls.

While there have been great strides in improving access for the deaf to services in many areas, there is still much room for improvement. There is a high correlation between sight and hearing loss and learning disability, which needs much greater research and provision. Video-conferencing services enable deaf people to have BSL interpreting via a web link. Skype is being tested but the quality needs improving. Participation for deaf people in CCG user forums would greatly help the deaf.

Despite improved access to communication and information, social isolation and exclusion continue to be major factors for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Work towards more integrated pathways, with transitions between education and children and adult services, is vital, and must be part of plans for service development. Local government, working with the local community and other appropriate organisations, often are best placed to develop services suited to the needs of service users who have special requirements. Legislation often can be too prescriptive and can prevent flexibility and creativity.