Deaf people who use BSL face ‘entrenched’ health and social care exclusion, say government advisers

Deaf people who use British Sign Language (BSL) face “entrenched” and “systemic” exclusion from health and social care services across Britain, according to a new report by government advisers.

The report* found that Deaf and Deafblind people’s lack of access to services costs the Treasury millions of pounds through “unmet needs, wasted appointments and delays in care”.

Better access to health and social care services would allow more Deaf and Deafblind people to find work and progress in their careers, and contribute more through taxation, says the report.

The report focuses on the experiences of Deaf and Deafblind BSL-users in England, Scotland and Wales, and is based on a review of their access to services carried out by the government’s BSL Advisory Board’s health and social care sub-group.

The report found a “deep-rooted lack of trust” within Deaf and Deafblind communities following repeated experiences of exclusion from services, which often left them “traumatised” by a lack of access to health and social care.

One Deaf woman spent five months sleeping in an accident and emergency cubicle because there was no bed available in mental health services that had BSL support.

Repeated access failures and exclusions often cause “accumulated trauma” over a person’s lifetime, says the report.

BSL users usually need “high levels of motivation, perseverance with inaccessible systems and patience with the inexperience of professionals trying to meet their needs” if they want to access services, the report found.

Many BSL-users avoid social care and health services completely due to their past experiences because they believe their communication needs will not be met.

There are believed to be about 87,000 Deaf BSL-users in the UK, and 25,000 people who use BSL as their main language.

The report makes a string of recommendations to the UK and devolved governments, including calls to establish national, 24/7 video relay services for England and Wales; set up national BSL complaints services within England, Scotland and Wales; provide mandatory deaf, deafblind and BSL awareness training for all NHS and social care staff; and address “language deprivation” in deaf children through “early and comprehensive” BSL provision and support for families.

The Locked Out report* follows the passing of the British Sign Language (BSL) Act in April 2022, which was introduced as a private members’ bill by Labour MP Rosie Cooper and recognised BSL as a language of England, Wales, and Scotland.

The act provided Deaf people with no new rights, but it secured significant support from the Deaf community, and it led the following year to the government setting up its BSL Advisory Board to offer advice to ministers on key issues affecting the Deaf community.

All the board’s members are deaf or deafblind, or have deaf parents or a deaf child.

Craig Crowley, the board’s co-chair, says in a foreword to the report that the document is a “powerful call to action and a roadmap towards a more inclusive and equitable future for BSL users within our health and social care systems”.

He says: “We acknowledge the distressing reality of delayed diagnoses, inadequate treatment, and the emotional impact of communication breakdowns, but we strongly believe these are challenges we can, and must, overcome.”

The British Deaf Association (BDA) welcomed the new report and its “stark” findings, describing it as the “most comprehensive examination ever undertaken into the barriers faced by Deaf and Deafblind BSL users across the NHS and social care systems”.

It said the persistent failures in communication access were causing avoidable harm, entrenched inequalities, and the denial of basic rights for tens of thousands of Deaf and Deafblind people across the UK.

Rebecca Mansell, BDA’s chief executive, said: “This is a ground-breaking report that lays bare the challenges that deaf signers face every day with the NHS and care system.

“This report confirms what Deaf and Deafblind people have been telling government for decades: the health and social care system is not built with our communities in mind.

“We are particularly delighted to see the strong focus in the report’s recommendations on the steps that governments must take to address language deprivation in deaf children and adults.

“We strongly endorse the recommendation that governments provide free BSL courses for the families of deaf children.

“This recommendation backs up the recently published report, The Value of British Sign Language – An Economic Analysis, written by Rand Europe, the policy research organisation.

“This reports that the teaching of BSL to young deaf children and their families delivers an impressive economic return on investment – up to £14 for every £1 invested.

“This report requires a strong and supportive government response, and we will be contacting BDA members to urge them to write to their MPs.”

The Department of Health and Social Care had failed to comment on the report by noon today (Thursday).

*Locked out: Exclusion of deaf and deafblind BSL users from health and social care in the UK

Picture: Rebecca Mansell (left) and Craig Crowley

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