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Download our latest Information Sheet - 14 Mental Health, Deafness and Hearing Loss

There are 534,000 people in Wales with some form of hearing loss and Action on Hearing Loss has discovered a significant percentage face significant problems when trying to use mental health services.

This combined with the fact that they are at an increased risk of mental health problems - including anxiety, depression and poor self-esteem - means it's an issue which GPs and primacy care practitioners really need to understand.

There are a variety of simple systems which make it easier to communicate clearly with deaf patients in person once they have entered a surgery or clinic:

• Induction Loop Systems - These should be fitted as a minimum standard within receptions and consultation areas as they allow hearing aid users to make full use of their hearing aids in potentially noisy surroundings. Staff should be capable of checking that they are working properly and be trained how to use them.
   
• Visual Displays - These ensure patients with hearing loss - and other patients - can clearly see when they are being called for appointments. They are not always appropriate as people have to continuously watch them so alerter systems are helpful as they let patients know each time a new name appears on the screen.
   
• Deaf Awareness - All frontline staff - including receptionists, nurses, doctors, health visitors and pharmacists - hould be trained in how to communicate effectively with someone with hearing loss. This particularly applies to staff based on inpatient wards with significant numbers of older patients. Training should be provided as part of the staff induction programme and refreshed on a regular basis with training delivered by a person who is deaf or hard of hearing.
   
• Calling People for an Appointment - Arrangements should be in place to ensure patients with hearing loss do not miss their appointments after arriving at a surgery or clinic. Staff should personally alert someone when the practitioner is ready to see them.

These are just some of the way mental health services can be made more accessible to people with hearing loss and you can find out more by reading our latest Information Sheet 14.

If you have any questions about Information Sheet 14 or any other queries please contact our Project Manager Lesley Hills via email at lhills@rcgp.org.uk or on 029 2050 4516.

Download our latest Information Sheet - 14 Mental Health, Deafness and Hearing Loss

Action on Hearing Loss has discovered a significant percentage of these kinds of patients face significant problems when trying to use mental health services.

There are 534,000 people in Wales with some form of hearing loss and they are at an increased risk of mental health problems including anxiety, depression and poor self-esteem so it's an issue which GPs and primacy care practitioners really need to understand.

A simple thing services can offer is a range of contact methods for patients to make an appointment - including the use of email, text messaging and textphones.

If you put these contact options in place then they must be advertised to patients and most are fairly easy to put in place.

Text - or SMS - messaging can be offered by simply offering a textphone number to patients with hearing loss and making sure the mobile phone which takes the messages is monitored throughout the day.

The same internal procedures should be used to monitor similar email services, particularly to ensure that this channel can be used to secure same day appointments for deaf people.

In the longer term, healthcare services should explore the use of an online appointment booking system and telephone systems should be designed with Text Relay users in mind, as automated responses take time to relay which can disadvantage patients calling between fixed times to secure same-day appointments.

These are just some of the way mental health services can be made more accessible to people with hearing loss and you can find out more by reading our latest Information Sheet 14.

Alternatively, we'll be going into more details about how you can improve your communications within your surgeries and clinics with a fnial post on this subject on Friday.

If you have any questions about Information Sheet 14 or any other queries please contact our Project Manager Lesley Hills via email at lhills@rcgp.org.uk or on 029 2050 4516.

Download our latest Information Sheet - 14 Mental Health, Deafness and Hearing Loss

Action on Hearing Loss has discovered a significant percentage of these kinds of people face significant problems when trying to use mental health services.

There are 534,000 people in Wales with some form of hearing loss and they are at an increased risk of mental health problems including anxiety, depression and poor self-esteem.

By 2031 the number of people with hearing problems is set to grow to 725,000 so it is a subject which GPs and primacy care practitioners across the country really need to understand.

As a result it is up to mental health workers to help make these services more accessible to this group and this can be achieved through a series of simple processes such as:

• Asking patients for details about their preferred method of communication when they first join a new GP or healthcare service
   
• Introducing a ‘flagging’ system on patients’ computer records to allow healthcare workers to understand any specific needs the patient may have when they visit a service and passing on this information for onward referrals
   
• Introducing procedures to ensure the individual communication support needs of patients are met - including booking a suitable communication professional such as a Sign Language Interpreter or Lipspeaker

These are just some of the way mental health services can be made more accessible to people with hearing loss and you can find out more by reading our latest Information Sheet 14.

Alternatively, we'll be going into more details about how you can improve your communications with deaf people with some more blog posts later this week.

If you have any questions about Information Sheet 14 or any other queries please contact our Project Manager Lesley Hills via email at lhills@rcgp.org.uk or on 029 2050 4516.