The challenges to make Suffolk healthcare fully accessible

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24659004.challenges-make-suffolk-healthcare-fully-accessible/

18th October

The challenges to make Suffolk healthcare fully accessible

From wrong interpreters being booked to writing notes for doctors on pieces of paper, Suffolk still has “some way to go” before healthcare is fully accessible to all, a patient advocacy chief has said.

Barriers in communication can arise for many reasons; a patient may be deaf, may not be fluent in English, or else may live with a communication disorder which means they require additional support.

In the UK, any NHS patient in need of translating or interpreting has the right to request assistance from their GP practice, pharmacy, dentist, or opticians, as confirmed by the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board.

This also applies to mental health services.

However, this does not mean that requesting help is always straightforward.

Richard Platt is chair of the Ipswich Deaf Children’s Society and born with 100% deafness.

Mr Platt explained that it is essential that he, and others like him, have access to a sign language interpreter for every healthcare appointment.

“We miss out on vital information that is being said, and the complex medical jargon as well as high level English make it impossible for us to absorb what is being said,” he explained.

“Most of the time, we leave appointments with no idea what was said and therefore no awareness of the plans ahead.”

Requesting an interpreter is, he said “very difficult”, especially as he is unable to communicate via phone calls.

This can leave him relying on hearing family members to make calls on his behalf – a safety net which Deaf people without a support network cannot rely on.

Mr Platt continued: “Last year I was admitted into hospital as an inpatient for a whole week and once I was discharged, I had to have several follow up hospital appointments to attend to but on several times, the appointments were cancelled due to various reasons such as the interpreter pulling out at the last minute, no interpreters was available, or the wrong interpreter was booked.

“All this leads to frustration and more delays. Sometimes we would have a wasted trip by turning up at the hospital appointment only to be told there that it was cancelled.”

Earlier this month, the inquest concluded for Katarzyna Szymborska, a mother-of-three from Newmarket.

In the months leading up to her death, she had been an inpatient at Wedgwood House mental health unit.

Mrs Szymborska’s first language was Polish, and she relied on an interpreter to communicate effectively in English. During the inquest, the court heard that an interpreter was available to Mrs Szymborska on some occasions, but not all the time.

Although he did not find this causative in her death, Coroner Darren Stewart OBE said that this is an issue on which he will seek further clarity from the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), which runs Wedgwood House.

Anthony Deery, chief nurse for NSFT, said that the Trust was “fully committed to providing fair, equitable and personalised services” which are easy to access as possible.

The Trust has a range of measures in pace to support patients with communication barriers, including “qualified interpreters for all clinical discussions” and access to national deaf services.

Mr Deery continued: “At the time of Mrs Szymborska’s sad death no issues had been raised in regard to accessing an interpreter to support her. However, we will undertake a further review of the interpretation services she was offered and make any necessary changes”.

Healthwatch Suffolk chief executive Andy Yacoub said that he was aware of issues in communication preventing patients from accessing healthcare. […]