Is a surprising response we’ve heard over the years when talking with healthcare organisations about their deaf patients. Let’s quickly put this into perspective and perhaps dispel this naïve misconception.

In the UK there are 1 in 6 (10 million) people who have some form of deafness (ranging from ‘mild’ to ‘profoundly’ deaf). Of those 10 million, 800,000 people are either ‘severely’ or ‘profoundly’ deaf.

In real terms that means at least 800,000 people will experience significant difficulties when communicating with dentists, doctors and hospitals in the ‘hearing world’.

800,000 people is not a figure to take lightly, particularly when you read the stories of deaf people accessing front line healthcare services. The findings of deaf patient’s experiences are well documented in ‘A Simple Cure’, a research project led by Sign Health, a charity set up to help with the needs of deaf people in the community focusing on mental and physical healthcare.

•  49% of deaf patients had been left unclear of their condition because of communication problems with their GP or nurse.

•  28% found it difficult to contact their surgery

• Formal front line staff training in deaf awareness – primary, secondary care and undergraduate medical schools 

• Conduct a Disability Access Audit which includes the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people

Let’s hope the next set of recommendations are less likely to fall on deaf ears and actually inspire some positive action. After all, the current government wants patients to have a choice when it comes to accessing healthcare services. The reasons why any patient would choose one service provider over another will be dependent on their needs and will be influenced by several factors:

• preferred location
• ability of a service to provide the necessary health care
• the ability to communicate and engage effectively
• the friendliness and professionalism of staff
• a service provider’s reputation

The quality and experience of healthcare providers can be reported effectively through sites such as Patient Opinion and Qype,  in fact it’s openly encouraged by ministers to help drive higher levels of quality patient care. For any organisation, reputation is created and spread quicker and easier than ever before.

Within the deaf community itself, word of mouth is a strong tool influenced by the power of social networks (online and physical), and looking to the future innovative tools such as Go-Genie produced by Pesky People, has the ability to provide patients with an ability to make an informed choice on choosing a healthcare provider that meets their needs (hint: those that are deaf aware).

As with any business, the aim of the game is to understand your customer’s needs and wants, and develop your products or services to meet those needs effectively. If service providers get this right, they stand in good stead to win more customers than the competition. If ignored, patients will have greater control and where possible they will vote with their feet.

Despite the guidance published in ‘A Simple Cure’, our continued work with healthcare organisations to improve their deaf patient experiences is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the number of front line staff in the UK that have appropriate skills to deliver inclusive patient care.

It’s quite clear that investing in being deaf aware presents huge opportunities for dentists, doctors and hospitals:

• Attract loyal customers
• Enable effective referrals/recommendations
• Improve reputation/brand
• Develop a skilled workforce
• Improved overall patient experiences
• Avoid unintentional discrimination

And the good thing (or frustrating, depending which angle you look at it), is all it takes is a conversation with someone like us, some inspirational and practical training and a willingness by staff to do the right thing for ALL their patients.

Perhaps one day a light bulb moment will occur and I’ll then hear healthcare providers ask me ‘How do we get more deaf patients?’

The leading serious injury firm has undertaken to ensure that all 250 members of staff in its Manchester and London offices – including management and support staff as well as fee-earners – undergo bespoke training to ensure the best level of service to its deaf and hearing-impaired clients.

“One in six of the UK population is deaf, and so we felt it was important that we as a firm had a better understanding of those people’s needs and how we can better communicate with our hearing-impaired clients,” said Alistair Macdonald, partner and head of Compliance at Fentons.

“As a firm we pride ourselves on ensuring everyone has access to justice regardless of any disability,” he said. “By undertaking this training programme, we are equipping everyone with the tools to provide the best level of service to all our deaf and hearing-impaired clients.”

Alistair said that Fentons had always strived to take into account the equality and diversity needs of its clients.

“We understand that simple shifts in behaviour – such as using e-mail instead of making a phone call – can help put our clients with hearing difficulties at ease,” he said. “We also use text messaging as a way of communicating and online instant messaging for those clients who prefer to discuss their case in that way.”

Alistair said the firm also has T-Loop systems across its offices, as well as providing clients with access to British Sign Language interpreters and communication support workers – something that DeafWise was quick to praise.

“Organisations often face daily communication barriers to their deaf customers and colleagues,” said Spencer Clark, of DeafWise. “Fentons was keen to take part in our deaf awareness training so that we could use our unique experience and range of solutions to help them engage better with their deaf and hearing-impaired clients.

“They already have the systems in place to ensure they are able to better communicate with deaf people – be they colleagues, clients or potential clients,” Spencer said, “but through the training we provided they now have a better understanding of how and when to use those systems.

“Fentons has demonstrated a commitment to continual improvement of the service it provides to deaf people, and we are looking forward to developing our relationship with the further training sessions already scheduled for both Manchester and London in 2011.”

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If you are a legal firm, or indeed any public facing organisation and would like to discuss how you can engage better with deaf customers, contact us on 0845 466 7153 or email info@deafwise.co.uk

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Yesterday we asked our Twitter and Facebook followers to suggest their top tips and advice for working with deaf and hard of hearing people.

Deafwise made the suggestion of a Deaf Champion in the workplace. This person would help represent the specific needs and challenges of deaf people and ensure that their views were taken into consideration. For example, they would speak with the IT department to ensure phones had lights on to alert deaf employees to phone calls.

Suzie Jones, encourages businesses to think creatively about the ways their deaf customers might contact them. Is email the only way a deaf client could get in touch? Have you got a business mobile number they could SMS? How about Skype?

Hosting an event? Remember that many deaf people don’t use British Sign Language so don’t assume they want a BSL Interpreter! Always ask for their preferred method of communication support. There are lots! Do your research and look into options such Remote Captioning.

Chris Bradley on Facebook said “don’t start and finish with BSL. The majority of those affected by hearing loss can not understand it, for various reasons. Try to work on text and other methods to get the message across. Perhaps, more online services for people who feel more comfortable communicating that way.”

Don’t leave deaf people out in the office. Do you have an important, last minute meeting? Look into ways you can include your deaf colleague. Remote Captioning means that they can access a palantypist at short notice and low cost – ideal for short meetings and conference calls.

Nominate someone to take notes of a meeting and ensure they are circulated to your deaf colleague. Don’t assume they have got everything because they wear a hearing aid.

@Lead1ngLady on Twitter rightly pointed out that it is a myth that hearing aids restore hearing. “Hearing aids amplify sound, but do not correct hearing.” Don’t assume a deaf person is ‘cured’ because they wear a hearing aid or have an a cochlear implant, it is a lot more complicated than that.

Include deaf and hard of hearing people in your conversation and don’t fob them off with it doesn’t matter, I’ll tell you later. Remember that it does matter and telling someone later is not good enough.  Start with older members of your family; chances are that they’ll be suffering from hearing loss.

Repeat, Rephrase, and if that fails just write it down! Ian Noon from the National Deaf Children’s Society in his tip of the day said; “Don’t be a parot!”

Deafness is an invisible disability so save yourself the aggravation – tap someone on the back if they’re not turning round when you speak to them. There is no point getting annoyed and shouting – they won’t hear you. Think deaf. Is the fire alarm going off or the phone ringing? Alert your deaf colleague if they don’t notice.

On Twitter @raymondillo suggests “Get disposable ear plugs for all your colleagues. On an agreed date let all wear then for 15 mins. Get feedback.”

It’s important to take the time to understand how best to help communicate with deaf colleagues and clients. There is no reason to leave anyone out of your conversations so slow down, be thoughtful, be deaf aware.

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Inspired to find out how your organisation can do more for deaf customers? contact us today on 0845  466 7153 or email info@deafwise.co.uk or visit our website www.deafwise.co.uk

DeafWise, the national deaf awareness training provider, has helped 50 East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) staff members get to grips with communicating with deaf people, following a specialist training course at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

The two one-day courses saw front-line staff members including nurses, receptionists and healthcare assistants learn how to communicate with deaf patients and ensure that non-hearing patients leave the hospital having had a positive customer experience.

Pat Dawes, Learning and Development manager at EKHUFT, said: “We became aware of an increase of patients and staff with hearing difficulties and whilst we have technical systems in place, such as hearing loops, we don’t have anything that addresses the challenges associated with face to face communication.

“We aim to provide all staff and visitors, whether they are a patient, carer or relative, with an excellent customer focused experience, irrespective of their abilities. DeafWise’s training has provided the staff with the skills required to handle all situations and has helped the Trust build a more inclusive environment. All our staff are committed to this.”

Trainees experienced the barriers deaf people face on a day to day basis through practical exercises as well as learning how to use sign language in their roles. By the end of the course, they were able to recognise different types of deafness; address, greet and take leave of a deaf sign user; understand the technologies used by deaf people, as well as spell the alphabet in British Sign Language.

Spencer Clark, co-founder of DeafWise, adds: “Nearly nine million people in the UK have some form of deafness, but many hearing people who have never met a deaf person before admit they would not really know how to communicate with them adequately. The East Kent Hospital Trust has taken steps to address this and ensure that everyone receives the same level of service. Deaf awareness training supports equality and has a profound and positive impact on the staff, as well as the patients they serve.”

Pat concludes: “We wanted the training to be as real as possible, and the fact that the training was facilitated by a deaf person helped make the experience really effective. The trainer immediately removed any potential barriers to learning and gave the trainees the freedom to experiment and develop new ways in which to communicate. Inclusivity and equality are at the heart of the Trust’s work and represent areas where there is no room for compromise.”

The Trust is now expected to roll the training out across other sites including the William Harvey hospital in Ashford, the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, the Royal Victoria at Folkestone and the Buckland Hospital at Dover.

For more information on deaf awareness training or to speak with a DeafWise representative, please contact 0845 466 7153. Alternatively, please visit www.deafwise.co.uk

e.g.

Dear Son of memory, great heir of Fame
What need’st thou such weak witness of thy name?
Thou in our wonder and astonishment
Hast built thyself a live-long monument.

1) a BSL interpretation of the poem
2)a BSL interpretation of the poem but also with subtitles of the actual poem?
3) Other??

Please let us know your thoughts and whether you use BSL as 1st language.

Whilst the UK (and arguably the world) struggle through current economic times and the public are bombarded with the media and political cries of uncertainty, debt, redundancy, cuts and yet more cuts, when it comes to deciding where to spend our money – the shopping experience is an important factor.

I love great customer service, the simple act of being offered a warm welcome, providing an enthusiastic and genuinely helpful service by a likeable member of staff makes me far more willing to part with my money than with the shop where staff are more interested in their phones or chatting to colleagues about X-Factor last night – even if the product may be cheaper!

Tough financial times mean businesses need to work harder to stand out above the competition and make them the first choice when customers are putting their hands in their pockets, whether it’s for groceries, computers or cars. Reputation, attitude and customer service is high on the list to consumers as deciding factors.

So a nudge to businesses, when you are investing in your staff training and marketing activities around the customer service experience with the purpose of attracting, engaging and selling to new customers – the disabled customer is arguably someone who could be shown a lot more love in return for their hard cash.

Loyalty is the golden ticket for businesses, and so they should continue to be made aware that if they strive for great customer service delivery to all types of customers, they will be rewarded by a new loyal customer base, who so far feels under serviced.

Small gestures, a new approach or simply a refreshed attitude can turn a poor customer experience for disabled customers into an enjoyable one that stands businesses in good stead for a reward – by them coming back next time. Offering the ‘John Lewis’ experience isn’t that hard to do.

It’s not a huge effort to create a service that values are based on an inclusive attitude with a warm welcome to the wheelchair user, patient staff who use their skills to deal with deaf customers or polite and aware staff who take a little extra time and effort with a customer who is blind.

Just remember when you are thinking about your customer service – think of ALL your customers.

‘Every Little Helps’?….. in our experience, it certainly does.

What we hope is that this blog gets people thinking about what is sometimes referred to as the ‘invisible disability’. ‘Invisible’ because it’s not a disability that is easily spotted, unlike someone in a wheel chair or someone who is blind with a guide dog, deafness doesn’t have that instant recognition of someone who may need extra support, so deaf customers can be easily ignored or excluded, often unintentionally.

Customer journey

Having read a bit about how deaf customers interact with organisations differently, we’d urge you to review your customer journey. Look at how you interact with customers and identify the touch points of your organisation, be it online, by telephone, or face to face in a shop, dentist or GP surgery. Then think about how a deaf persons journey looks like, where are your ‘hot spots’, the points of contact that are difficult or impossible for deaf customers to engage or interact with you? Then think what you can do to improve this customer experience.

For those who have face to face contact with customers, having simply more knowledge of deafness, an awareness of there needs and learning how to approach communication slightly differently is a massive step towards bringing deaf customers closer and delivering a great customer service – to ALL your customers.

We’ll continue to blog about this subject, not on a daily basis though! We welcome your contribution whether its asking questions or advice, or giving examples of good deaf awareness in practice.

See you next time.

Overview of British Sign Language

British Sign Language or BSL for short is the name of the sign language which is used in England and the United Kingdom. It is the first language of approximately 150,000 deaf people in the British Isles. There are also many thousands of people who are not deaf who use BSL such as employers of Deaf people, relatives/friends and interpreters.

British Sign Language is a visual-gestural language without a conventional written form which has its own grammar utilising facial expressions (non manual features), hand shapes and upper body movements to convey meaning. BSL is a spatial and visual language and a lot of beginners think it is similar to mime (which it is not). The important thing to remember is that the grammar used in BSL is completely different to that used in everyday English.Even though Britain and the USA speak English as the first language of their respective countries, British Sign Language is different to American Sign Language, also known as ASL. Again it is also the same difference with BSL and Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Northern Ireland Sign Language (NISL). This fact demonstrates that even though these countries have English as the first language the sign language used varies from country to country.

Just as in the English language, British Sign Language also has regional dialects. As an example, some signs used in the Northern parts of England may be different in the South of the country and vice versa. Within some regions you will also find ‘local signs’ that can be classed as slang. And just like local slang in any town or city, new phrases and words come in and out of fashion or just evolve over time.

British Sign Language users successfully campaigned the government of the United Kingdom and made BSL into an officially recognized British Language back in March 2003. British Sign Language is now recognized on the same level as other languages of the United Kingdom such as Scottish, Welsh and Gaelic.

There are so many components to British Sign Language like any other language. For example BSL features fingerspelling, spatial grammar and simultaneity (whereas oral language is linearwith only one sound being  made or received at a time. Sign language, on the other hand, is visual; hence a whole scene can be taken in at once.) Other features in BSL are placement, non manual features, dedicated handshapes and it’s unique signing structure and grammar.

How businesses can adapt signs/literature etc to be better understood by BSL users.

The main piece of advice we’d offer is to try and use plain english – avoiding complex sentences and over using words to get a point across. Here is a prime example of how to break down a complex message to something simple, then into BSL.

Original statement:

Your enquiry about the use of the entrance area at the library for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets about Welfare and Supplementary Benefit rights, gives rise to the question of the provenance and authoritativeness of the material to be displayed. Posters and leaflets issued by the Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and Social Security and other authoritative bodies are usually displayed in libraries, but items of a disputatious or polemic kind, whilst not necessarily excluded, are considered individually.

Reworded in plain english:

Thank you for your letter asking for permission to put up posters in the library. Before we can give you an answer we will need to see a copy of the posters to make sure they won’t offend anyone.

Reworded in written ‘BSL’:

Thank you let us put posters up library. But first see if it ok. Bad posters wont up.

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Try as much as you can to simplify the message you want to get across – get to the point in a clear way.

A great example of how to use clear communication, not necessarily to do with deafness but we think is a great site is Common Craft, have a look at their approach to explaining things: www.commoncraft.com.

For organisations it’s important to provide solutions to improve communication – offering a choice of methods for D/deaf people to contact you.

Contacting your organisation (non face to face).

D/deaf people will have some degrees of difficulty using a standard telephone and so there are some other options that are available to ensure they can contact you and you can contact them, perhaps you have some of these already in place?

• Textphone (also known as a minicom) – this is a special device with a QWERTY keyboard and a screen, each person In the conversation has a textphone and types a live conversation to each other – similar to online messenger chats, but this is over the telephone lines, not the web.
• Text Relay – this is a free relay service whereby a D/deaf person uses their textphone to call a hearing person – an interpreter/operator comes on the line and relays the conversation from the D/deaf person typing their words to the hearing person and vice versa, when the hearing person speaks the operator types back to the textphone user. It takes just one or two calls to get used to this method. Learn more about Text Relay here http://www.textrelay.org/.
• SMS – Do you have the ability to use SMS to communicate with your customers? This is not just for D/deaf people – a truly inclusive solution, you can send and receive SMS from PC’s, lots of solutions available on the market.
• Live Web Chat – from your website you can offer an online chat service, there are free versions on the market such as www.Chat4support.com
• Skype – you can offer skype text chats from your organisations computers – free to set up in most cases.
• Fax – still used by some D/deaf people, it could be an option for your organisation to offer this as a channel to communication.
• Email – virtually everyone has an email address now – but how well is it checked – if you promote it to be used, make sure someone checks and replies regularly.
• Third party – will you accept a call from a friend or family member on behalf of the D/deaf person – check your procedures and policies as this is a commonly used way of communicating – although not truly independent for the D/deaf person, it is still good to allow someone to call, with them present at the same time.

D/deaf customers on your premises.

Whether you are a shop, hotel, restaurant or any public space, there are solutions available that can improve a D/deaf person’s experience.

• Loop systems – A loop system is used with people who wear hearing aids. The loop system helps cuts out background noise and amplifies sound to the person wearing hearing aids. Used at counter services, in offices, conferences etc. Our friends at www.hearingloop.co.uk have many solutions and can help you choose the most relevant solution.
• Audio visual displays – example is at banks or post office, an electronic sign showing which counter to go to next. Very handy in any situation where there is a queue – doctors, dentists, counter services etc. examples here http://www.hearingloop.co.uk/products/items/queue-control-systems.html
• Flashing lights for alarms – smoke alarms and fire alarms, particularly in public areas where people might be on their own – hotels, work environments.
• Vibrating alarms – essential items in hotels, B&B’s etc. The risk of a D/deaf customer not hearing the fire alarm doesn’t bear thinking about! Deafgard is just one type of solution – it vibrates under the pillow when alarm goes off http://www.deafgard.com/
• Reflective glass – at counter services be aware that reflective glass can make it difficult to lip read due to reflections.
• Suitable lighting and soft furnishings – misplaced lighting can distract a D/deaf person and make lip-reading difficult and soft furnishings reduce echoes and background noise.
• Signage/information – keep signage clear and use simple English, remember some D/deaf people’s English grammar can be limited. But signage is a great way of providing information that may normally be given verbally.
• Have a pen and paper handy – not the cusp of innovative technology but always useful to help write down words, directions or instructions.

This is just some of the solutions out there. It’s probably best to have a chat with someone like DeafWise to understand where you could make improvements as it depends on your type of organisation and nature of interaction with customers.

Carrying on from yesterday we’ve got a few more sign language clips for you to develop your skills. Good luck and see you at the next post.

Ultimately I don’t think you can blame someone who hasn’t met a D/deaf person before for making some of these wrong assumptions, thank goodness for the DeafWise blog then! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

So today we’re looking at face to face communication with deaf customers. In the last post we looked at different types of deafness and how that can affect the methods of communication used.

Here is a bit more information on Oral and Manual communication and then we’ll look at practical communication tips for you when interacting with D/deaf customers.

ORAL

Lip-reading involves watching the movements of the mouth, jaw and lips as well as facial expression, body language and contextual clues.

• Lip-reading is the recognition of lip-patterns representing the spoken word.
• Lip-reading is largely intelligent guesswork – only about 30-40% of what people say is visible on the lips.
• Not all D/deaf people are able to lip-read.
• Lip-reading requires concentrated effort and consequently D/deaf and hard of hearing people tire easily during long conversations.
• Regional accents and dialects affect lip-reading, particularly the vowel shapes.
• Also beards and moustaches can make it difficult to read lips, clean shaven men are easier to lip read!

Try for yourself – in a mirror say the number ’16′ and the number ’60′, or Paul and Ball, or Better and Butter – you can see how similar they look, this is why it’s important to be as clear as you can.

MANUAL

British Sign Language (BSL) is an independent language with its own vocabulary, grammar structure and syntax. It does not have the same grammar structure of spoken English. It involves the use of hands/arms, facial expression and body movements simultaneously. (We’ll be looking at sign language a bit more in Blog 4 this week).

• It is the language of the Deaf community, and like spoken English has regional dialects and “accents”.
• It is a visual language that uses hand-shapes, facial and bodily expressions and gestures to express meaning.

You’ll be learning some sign language at the end of this post!

Sign Supported English (SSE) has the same grammar structure as spoken English, but incorporating facial expressions, body movements and hand-shapes.

• SSE uses BSL signs with English grammar and is often used by deaf people who have a good grasp of English
• Signs are used in English word order accompanied by the spoken word
• Many deaf people find SSE is an aid to lip-reading

Gesture and Mime are body movements used to express what a person wishes to convey. They are universal and widely understood. Hearing people use them as much as deaf people – in loud environments particularly.

Finger spelling- fingers of each hand are used to spell letters of the alphabet. It is not recommended in sentence form (as conversations can become very long and time consuming), but it is particularly useful for spelling difficult names, places or unusual words.

You may know some signing, or be very good at describing things visually – how good are you at Charades at Christmas?! Now there are a few tactics that tie into lip-reading and signing with a deaf  customer.

Communication Tactics

• BEFORE you communicate with a D/deaf or hard of hearing person, you need to have eye-to-eye contact.
• ATTRACT this person’s attention, to achieve eye-to-eye contact by moving into their line of sight, flashing lights (on/off) if there are a group of deaf people, or tapping gently on shoulder/arm, make a loud noise/vibration or simply wait till this person is looking at you.
• USE comfortable distance, no more than 6 feet and no closer than 3 feet.
• DO NOT shout. If you do, it confuses D/deaf or hard of hearing people, thinking you may be angry.
• SPEAK slowly and use sentences. Keep your natural rhythm of speech – avoid   s   l   o   w   l   y     speaking your words……  it actually  makes it harder (see next point)
• DO NOT exaggerate your facial movements – it becomes more difficult for someone to read your speech pattern.
• BE AWARE of your environment. Make sure it is light enough and your face is in full view. When you can, avoid noisy backgrounds or having daylight/light behind you – it shadows your face and makes it difficult to see your face.
• MAKE SURE your mouth is clear of hands, food and drink, pipes or vuvuzelas!
• BE WILLING to say again if you aren’t understood.
• BE READY to rephrase, rather than keep repeating. If someone hasn’t understood you twice, try to say it differently.
• LIP-READING is tiring and hard work. It requires a lot of focus. Allow lip-readers to have short breaks during long conversations.
• DO NOT be dismissive .e.g. “Oh never mind” or “it does not matter” if it’s getting difficult, try something else to be understood.
• BE PATIENT and do not panic. Smile to show that you have time for them.
• ENSURE you involve the deaf person(s) in group conversation, by speaking one at a time. Quick talking between a group of people will mean information could be lost, and can get more confusing for the deaf person.

Dealing with deaf customers requires some patience and a different approach by staff – more thought than normal needs to go into communicating, our practical workshops that we deliver help with increasing staff confidence to achieve better communication.

Many of our delegates enjoy learning sign language, some of you may have learnt at Scouts or Brownies/Girl Guides. Our friend Sonia has put some clips together to learn sign language (Thanks Sonia!). So start today with learning the alphabet, it’ll take a couple of minutes, get some colleagues to join in too, spelling your names is always a good starter then move on to names a places perhaps. We’ll add more lessons in the next post so until tomorrow, good luck.

Quick question: Have you signed up to our newsletter and blog? If not, you could win a free deaf awareness workshop for your organisation, simply click here to register.