A BROWNLOW GP practice has become the first practice in the UK to win an award for its commitment to deaf and hard of hearing patients.
The Louder than Words Charter was presented to the Hunter Family Practice by Brian Synington, services director for RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People).
Lorraine Hughes, practice manager, said, “We started the proce
ss to achieve the award as a result of a decision to improve access for all our disabled patients. Our aim was to go beyond what is required under disability legislation and make our practice more welcoming and user-friendly for disabled patients.”
The practice decided to start with deaf and hard of hearing patients and contacted RNID to arrange a deaf awareness presentation. As a result of this, they began the process necessary to achieve the Louder than Words Charter.
COURSE
As part of achieving the charter, staff have attended an Introduction to Signing course so they can greet deaf patients, spell names and give simple directions using British Sign Language (BSL).
Two members of staff subsequently volunteered to complete a year-long BSL Level 1 course in their own time.
Reception, administration and switchboard staff were trained in the use of Typetalk and Textphone and induction loops were bought for all consulting rooms and reception areas, while a portable loop is available for home visits.
A new, digital television with teletext to enable the use of subtitles was bought for the waiting room, where a visual patient call system has now been installed.
New policies and protocols have been produced and a Deaf Related Information Pack compiled to assist staff.
The practice also liased with the local trust to ensure that flashing lights were installed, linked to the alarm system in the Health Centre.
Said Lorraine Hughes, “We wrote to our patients to inform them of the measures we had taken, and we also carried out a patient survey which gave us some very positive and valuable feedback.
“We have found the process interesting, informative and very rewarding. We would recommend it to any organisation, large or small, that wishes to improve its service to, and communication with its clients.”
The full article contains 370 words and appears in Portadown Times newspaper.
