Covid: Plea not to end funding for BSL Health Access

Ken Lovell spent time in hospital during the pandemic and the BSL service helped his family to find out what was happening

There are calls for funding to continue for a service helping people who are deaf or have hearing loss to access healthcare during the pandemic.

A cut in face-to-face appointments, and mask-wearing, meant accessing healthcare has been a challenge.

The 24-hour BSL Health Access service allowed people to speak in their preferred language to medical professionals via an interpreter on a video relay.

But NHS funding has not been renewed.

A spokeswoman for the UK government's Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said all NHS providers must comply with the law to ensure deaf people who wish to communicate using BSL are able to do so.

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Emma Trainor, 50, said the service had been invaluable for her parents, Ann and Ken Lovell, who are in their 70s and live in Pontypool, Torfaen.

"My parents both are profoundly deaf since birth," she said.

"When the pandemic started, it was hard for my parents as my dad was diagnosed with type one diabetes a few months earlier.

"He still struggled with injections and diets as it was new to him, especially at his age.

"He had a nurse who came in to support him, however she wore a face mask. It was difficult for them to communicate with her.

"I was very worried as I was unable to come over to support them due to lockdown."

Ms Trainor said her father was taken to hospital with diabetes, but her mother was not able to accompany him - so the pair relied on their son, who has hearing.

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"At first, the hospital suspected he had Covid due to a high temperature and put him in the ward with others who are also suspected of Covid, and the doctor asked us to agree to DNR (do not resuscitate)," Ms Trainor, who is also deaf, said.

"We all were on WhatsApp group video call. Understandably, we all were very upset. We agreed not to give our permission for DNR as we wanted him to have a chance to recover."

The next day, Mr Lovell tested negative for Covid and was moved to another ward, but Mrs Lovell was not able to phone the hospital herself to find out what was happening.

"I could use type talk but it was difficult due to communicating in written English," Ms Trainor said.

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"Luckily, my friend told me about BSL Health Access. I used it to phone the hospital for an update. It was great as I can talk in my preferred language with the nurse and doctor.

"If it was not for BSL Health Access, I would have to rely on my brother every day."

Ms Trainor has since used the service for herself, and to support her parents with their appointments.

"It was great for us to communicate in BSL, especially as we can communicate with staff when they wear their face mask," she said.

"I was upset when I found out this service had stopped. I will have to use the type talk service which is not very effective and could lead to misunderstanding.

"If this service could continue then it would be very beneficial for all of us."

'A right, not a privilege'

The free service was launched by the charity SignHealth when the UK first went into lockdown and services switched to phone consultations.

Initially the charity invested £800,000 from its own reserves to kickstart the service while it sought funding, to ensure deaf people were not left waiting.

Late in 2020, the NHS in England agreed to cover the running costs from December to the end of March 2021 to ensure the UK-wide service continued.

However, it confirmed the funding would not be renewed, effectively closing the service as SignHealth is unable to cover further costs.

James Watson-O'Neill, chief executive of SignHealth, said: "Access to health services is a right, not a privilege.

"Deaf people, whose health is already typically poorer than hearing people's, deserve excellent access to healthcare in British Sign Language."

A DHSC spokeswoman said: "Everyone should be able to access the healthcare they need whenever they need it."

BBC Wales asked each political party standing in Thursday's Welsh Parliament elections whether they would, if elected, seek to fund the service in Wales.

Labour said it has always fought for stronger rights and services for deaf people and would help support people to access NHS and healthcare services in a timely and user-friendly way.

The Welsh Conservatives said they planned to introduce a British Sign Language Bill to improve and maintain communication with patients with hearing loss in a masked or unmasked world, as well as increasing awareness in all settings.

Plaid Cymru said people with hearing loss should have access to the latest technology to meet their needs, and was committed to removing all barriers in accessing health and social care.

The Liberal Democrats said cutting funding was a "shameful decision" which should be reversed, and it is committed to investing in technology.

The Green Party said the service had been described by people in the deaf community as "lifesaving" and cutting funding was discriminatory and would harm their health and wellbeing, promising to fight for funding for such services.

Neil McEvoy, leader of Propel, said if the UK government would not maintain the service, then the Welsh government must step in.

Mark Reckless, from Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, said his party wants one UK government to fund such services for everyone in the UK on an equal basis.

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