Scottish government commissions contactSCOTLAND-BSL for further three years

June 28, 2016

The UK’s first ever national Video Relay Service (VRS), contactSCOTLAND-BSL, has been commissioned by the Scottish government to run for the next three years. Thousands of deaf people in Scotland stand to benefit from the free service.

ContactSCOTLAND-BSL is a ground-breaking Video Relay Service delivered by Sign Language Interactions in close partnership with InterpreterNow and nWise AB. Deaf people can call over 130 public organisations and thousands of third sector and voluntary organisations in Scotland via a video call to a sign language interpreter. Organisations that can be called include Scottish government departments, councils, health boards, hospitals and GPs, as well as the NHS24 and Police Scotland 101 non-emergency lines.

The award of the contract, after an open tender competition, follows a highly successful year-long pilot that was funded and evaluated by the Scottish government. Over 6,000 calls were made by deaf people during the pilot and this number is expected to substantially increase over the next three years.

The service can be accessed through any internet-connected computer with a webcam, as well as free apps on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. Deaf people can make a call to a fully qualified British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter who will phone a service or organisation on their behalf.

The interpreter will sign to the deaf person via the video link, speak with the hearing person over the telephone and relay the conversation back and forth. Using the service gives deaf people the opportunity to make a video call in their first language; a smoother and faster experience for all call participants compared to text-based relay services.

The successful and long-running partnership between Sign Language Interactions of Scotland (service lead and suppliers of BSL interpreters), nWise of Sweden (provider of the world leading platform MMX, specially adapted for high quality video interpretation) and InterpreterNow (a social enterprise owned by the UK Deaf Health Charity SignHealth that provides technical support and management) allows the successful delivery of contactSCOTLAND-BSL.

Andrew Dewey, Managing Director of Sign Language Interactions, John Maidens, Managing Director of InterpreterNow and Thor Nielsen, VP, Global Marketing and Sales of nWise commented:

“We are thrilled and delighted to be awarded the contract to manage and deliver the contactSCOTLAND-BSL service. The Scottish government has shown real vision in commissioning this service and we look forward to continuing to play a part in giving deaf people in Scotland full and equal access to vital public services and voluntary organisations.”

InterpreterNow gives new Deaf access to information on NHS primary care services (BSL)

November 27, 2015

A new service has been launched that will make information about NHS primary care services accessible to Deaf people for the first time. Deaf people can now call NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre thanks to InterpreterNow, a service from the Deaf Health Charity SignHealth.

The NHS England Customer Contact Centre is a one-stop shop for information on NHS primary care services such as GPs, opticians, dentists and pharmacists. The Centre also helps with Freedom of Information requests and complaints about primary care.

Using the InterpreterNow Video Relay Service, Deaf people will be able to use their smartphone, tablet or PC to communicate with the NHS Customer Contact Centre in British Sign Language, via a fully qualified online interpreter.

The 6-month pilot with the NHS Customer Contact Centre is the latest step in making telephone-based health services accessible to Deaf people. Together with the NHS 111 BSL service, also
delivered via InterpreterNow, it is helping to make telephone-based health services as easy for Deaf people to use as for hearing people.

InterpreterNow has a track record of working with other organisations to provide equal access for Deaf people to vital public services. As well as NHS111, InterpreterNow is also the service behind Leicestershire Police’s 101 BSL line and contactScotland (which allows people in Scotland to access any government service using BSL).

Commenting, John Maidens, Managing Director of InterpreterNow, said:

“We’re really thrilled to have worked with the NHS England Customer Contact Centre to make the service available to Deaf people. It’s an ideal way for Deaf people to find out what’s available, enabling them to make informed and independent choices.”

Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England said

“We are really pleased to fund the Interpreter Now service and this initial pilot demonstrates our commitment to exploring partnerships, enabling equal access and improving services for people with hearing loss. Hearing problems are a growing challenge with an increasing number of people living with some form of hearing loss which can impact on their ability to fully participate in society.”

Deaf mystery shoppers highlight health inequalities

June 4, 2015

Deaf people are dying early because communication difficulties prevent them from having the same access to healthcare as hearing people. That’s what SignHealth’s Director of Communications Paul Welsh told BBC Radio Berkshire.

SignHealth was responding to “Are you hearing us? The experience of deaf patients in Wokingham Borough accessing GP services”. The report was produced by Deaf Positives Action, which ‘mystery shopped’ 13 surgeries in the area, on behalf of HealthWatch Wokingham

They discovered that surgeries often do not provide patients with an interpreter. And where an interpreter service is available, patients often have to wait weeks for an appointment, putting their health at risk.

Deaf Positives Action’s findings reflected those of SignHealth’s ‘Sick of It’ report into deaf health. ‘Sick of It’ revealed that 70% of Deaf people who haven’t been to their GP recently wanted to but didn’t go, mainly because there was no interpreter.

“This situation is so unnecessary’, Paul Welsh told the BBC, “Deaf people are dying earlier than hearing people simply because health providers are not making the effort to give them equal access to health services.”

Paul told the BBC Berkshire’s Andrew Peach about SignHealth’s InterpreterNow service. The service provides instant, online interpreting between British Sign Language (BSL) users and English speakers via an ordinary phone, computer, tablet or smartphone. It doesn’t replace face to face interpreters, but it can help when there is no time to arrange an interpreter to be present in person, or when one doesn’t turn up.

Photograph: www.gocredit.com

InterpreterNow! Scottish Deaf People Can Phone NHS24 for Health Advice

September 18, 2014

SignHealth are behind a new interpreting pilot programme.

NHS 24 is an out of hours phone service, and thanks to SignHealth’s service InterpreterNow, it is now available to Deaf people.

If you are a Deaf BSL user, live in Scotland and you need health advice or information, call NHS 24.

How? Use your computer or smartphone to log online and access the BSL video relay service. Connect to the service by going to the website http://www.nhs24.com/ContactUs/OtherLanguages/BSL and click on the blue button at the bottom of the page that says ‘Interpreter Now’ (see below, shown with yellow arrows).

When your VRS call starts, you will be asked for your location and the reason why you have called. NHS 24 will help you by contacting a suitable person, maybe a nurse, pharmacist, or a dentist. They may be able to give you advice via the interpreter, or they may call an ambulance for you.

The service is available Monday to Friday, 9am to midnight, and weekends, 8am to midnight. It is free for you to use.

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PRESS RELEASE 2ND SEPTEMBER 2014 – SignHealth Receive Substantial Grant from the Department of Health for InterpreterNow

September 3, 2014

The Deaf Health Charity SignHealth have received a substantial grant for well over half a million pounds from the Department of Health. We are using it to set up an innovative service using InterpreterNow to improve health access for Deaf people.

Our Sick Of It report highlighted the worrying fact that Deaf people are being unintentionally neglected by the NHS because of a lack of accessible information and poor communication.

‘When sign language users finally get to see their doctor, they’re forced to communicate in ways that cause misunderstandings, confusion, missed diagnosis and poor treatment. 8 in 10 Deaf people want to use sign language, 3 in 10 are given the chance.’

We are using the Department of Health grant to change this, in conjunction with our partners Deaf Direct, Merseyside Society for Deaf People and Deaf Vision.

CONTENT OF LETTER

Department of Health invests heavily in online interpreting for Deaf people

The Department of Health is investing £660,000 in an innovative scheme which will give tablet computers to Deaf people so they can access fully qualified interpreters online.

InterpreterNow, the online interpreting service from SignHealth, will run the project over the next three years. They will lend tablets to around 700 Deaf people in the North West, South East, and West Midlands regions of England.

The tablets will be loaded with an InterpreterNow app, which gives instant access to an online sign language interpreter. They will enable health professionals and Deaf people to communicate with each other quickly and accurately.

SignHealth’s Sick Of It report, which was published earlier this year, showed that Deaf people are being failed by the NHS, with a reduced life-expectancy as a result. It discovered that 70% of Deaf people who hadn’t been to their doctor recently had wanted to, but were put off mainly by the lack of interpreters.

The failure of most doctors to provide sign language interpreters means that Deaf people have more undiagnosed potentially life-threatening illnesses than hearing people. They are also less likely to receive effective treatment when there is a diagnosis, and struggle to make appointments.

The new scheme will provide access to health-care which is equivalent to the service that hearing people get. It will also work to make more health professionals aware of the needs and rights of Deaf people, trying to reduce the institutional discrimination which means Deaf people are in general less healthy than similar hearing people.

In addition to interpreting services, the tablets will provide easy access to health information in sign-language, as well as subtitled resources. Lack of easily available health information in sign language means that Deaf people are less able than hearing people to make informed decisions about their own health, and lack basic health and nutrition knowledge that others take for granted.

Face to face interpreting is an important part of healthcare and online interpreting is not designed to replace it entirely. InterpreterNow offers Deaf patients more choice, and quick access to an interpreter when it is not possible to get one in person.

Rapidly changing technology and faster mobile internet promise to revolutionise communications for Deaf people. InterpreterNow is at the forefront of making it happen, and this new project funded by the Department of Health is an important and innovative step forward.

-ENDS-

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

For immediate release

Please contact Paul Welsh, SignHealth’s Director of Communications, on 01494 687631 or

SignHealth Help Improve Deaf Awareness in Hospitals (BSL)

May 20, 2014

Carolyn and Jane both work in the NHS as consultant anaesthetists. During the launch of our Sick Of It report, Carolyn tweeted SignHealth about how she communicates with D/deaf patients.

As part of our Deaf Awareness Week campaign, we have contacted hearing medical professionals and NHS staff to talk to them about communication barriers D/deaf people experience. We then asked them to think about the service they provide for D/deaf people. Most of the hearing professionals thought they offered a good service, but after reading our report they realised they were not meeting D/deaf people’s needs. A few of the NHS staff we spoke to have made video clips explaining how the Sick Of It report has improved their awareness, Carolyn and Jane being the first.

Voice and Subtitles

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Deaf Awareness Week 2014: Find out what we are doing…. (BSL)

May 19, 2014

Can you believe it, Deaf Awareness Week 2014 is here! A time for all D/deaf people and D/deaf organisations to come together and raise awareness.

SignHealth have one main aim this week – we want to breakdown communication barriers that D/deaf people experience.

And this is how we’re doing it…

Firstly, we have spent the last few weeks meeting hearing medical professionals and NHS staff. We have told them about our Deaf health report Sick Of It, and then asked them to think about the service they provide for D/deaf people. Most of these hearing professionals thought they offered a good service, but after reading our report, they realised they really weren’t meeting D/deaf people’s needs. A few of the NHS staff we spoke to have made video clips explaining how the Sick Of It report has improved their awareness, and we will be uploading these for you to see during Deaf Awareness Week.

Our second mini-project involved working with D/deaf people, or people who have Deaf children/parents. We asked them to talk about their experience of accessing health services so that hearing people could see first hand how their services are received. Sadly, most of the D/deaf people we spoke to only had bad experiences to share. They too have filmed themselves and we will be uploading their clips onto our website too.

Thirdly, and perhaps most crazily (!), two of our SignHealth staff have been travelling across the country talking to members of the public about their own D/deaf awareness. They showed them our Sick Of It report and asked each person to try imagining themselves in a Deaf person’s shoes. We wanted these people to understand what it feels like to struggle booking an appointment if they need to see their doctor, or how it feels to sit in a consultation in a medical setting without an interpreter. Often they will leave with a poor understanding of their illness and medication. A lot of people had never thought about this before, but when they stopped to think, they realised how difficult Deaf people’s experiences are.

Together with your help, we want to end the communication barriers that D/deaf people experience. If you are D/deaf and you go to the doctors and receive bad treatment, please be assertive and get your receptionist to book you an interpreter, note taker or lip-speaker, or ask for them to install InterpreterNow. Make sure you are given a double appointment to allow for your communication needs, and do not leave your appointment until you have a full understanding of your own health.

To follow that up, if you see something we post on Twitter or Facebook that you agree with, please retweet it or share it with your friends, and if you meet a hearing person who has little Deaf awareness, instead of getting angry and walking away, try to show them different ways of communicating, because it won’t just help you, it will help the whole D/deaf community.

SignHealth Represented at DEAFvibe

May 12, 2014

99% of Friday’s conversations started with “What’s this?” and an inquisitive finger pointing at our giant yellow SICK OF IT logo. Stood at our SignHealth stand between Challenge North Staffs who support people suffering from Hate Crime, and opposite Sign Lingual, a Deaf awareness charity that provides BSL courses, was our signing team, explaining Sick Of It and the services we provide.

Our conversation went one of three ways.

Conversation one, in BSL or using English so people who wanted to could lipread, was with D/deaf people who hadn’t experienced good health care. Sadly, we’d heard it all before: Doctors who refused to book interpreters, GP receptionists who knew their surgery had a textphone but embarrassingly admitted it was kept upstairs (in a box, switched off), and audiology staff who repeatedly forgot to maintain face to face communication which made lip reading reading nigh on impossible. We even spoke to parents whose children had been asked to interpret in medical situations (which thankfully, the parents had refused).

Conversation two, generally started by a hearing person, was of a professional nature. We were over the moon to speak to Jane from the North Staffordshire Breast Screening Service, who wanted advice on how to make information sent to women about breast screening more accessible to native BSL users. We discussed making BSL clips and uploading them to the their website, our website and YouTube, and adding QR codes to each letter. This is something we are following up.

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[clear]We spoke to staff from the NHS Ambulance Service and showed them our service InterpreterNow, which would give paramedics instant access to an interpreter when a Deaf person faced life threatening injuries/illness and a face to face interpreter can’t be sourced immediately. We also had a long chat with signing police officers who have successfully campaigned for police-related information to be accessible in BSL when Deaf people enter police stations, although there’s still a long way to go before all police forces do this. We collected email addresses from everyone, and this week we will start working in collaboration with all of them.

However, conversation three was the most uplifting. Compared to our recent conversations with people at Deaf Day at City Lit, the Deaf people who spoke to us at DEAFvibe’s See Me, Hear Me event were thoroughly satisfied with their doctor’s capability (and understanding) of booking interpreters. For those who had friends and family members who did not receive such equality, they listened carefully and took our Prescriptions for Change to pass on.

We still have a long way to go, but finally it looks like those involved in the medical profession are starting to make change.

Deaf Day : My Experience of Representing SignHealth

April 29, 2014

(By Samantha Denton)

I have experienced the Deaf Day at City Lit in London as a visitor in the past, where I found useful D/deaf-related information and an opportunity to see old friends and acquaintances, all gathered in one place! However, this was the first time I worked behind a stall.

It was a perfect event for the SignHealth team to share information with the Deaf community about our Sick Of It report, the work we do, and some of the services we provide: InterpreterNow, DeafHope and Young DeafHope.

Paul, Steve, Richard and I represented SignHealth, whilst Bob was in charge of InterpreterNow, working with Mark Cunliffe. Another team managed the DeafHope and Young DeafHope stall. The day started quietly with a trickle of people streaming in and out. Then suddenly, at midday, there was a mad swarm of people, both Deaf and hearing. This continued into the afternoon, apart from an occasional few minutes of silence! With an atmosphere of hustle and bustle in the room, people huddled around our stalls, talking and signing away to members of staff, asking questions about our Sick Of It report, services and advice.

[clear]Hearing people learnt more about the report and were enthusiastic to make positive changes for Deaf people, but most Deaf people told us about their bad experiences with GPs and hospitals. However, I am glad to say that some Deaf people had positive experiences, such as BSL interpreters being provided for their appointments without any qualms. It’s like a postcode lottery depending on where they live in the UK. This shouldn’t happen though, because Deaf people’s needs should be equally met and respected all over the UK.

Paul made sure everyone who visited our stall left the room wearing a Sick Of It badge on their clothes! The outcome…it helped us spread awareness amongst the visitors to Deaf Day of our important and ongoing work.

Whilst I have had Deaf people interested in finding out more about the report and how it will help to raise awareness amongst the hearing professionals, a number of Deaf people were also eager to find out more about BSL Healthy Minds, Psychological Therapies, Counselling and Advocacy services. They were keen to know how to make complaints about malpractice using the right approach, and they were in awe of our InterpreterNow service.

[clear]By the end of the day, the team was utterly worn out but it was totally enjoyable and worth meeting people from all walks of life. We shared important information to ensure people are aware of their rights, and we showed people how they can get their GPs to improve their service by giving them our Prescriptions for Change. May our vital work continue!

BBC News Discuss InterpreterNow!

February 11, 2014

BBC News discuss online BSL interpreting.

Sourced from: BBC News

When? 23 January 2013

Online interpreting is not ideal. Face to face interpreting is better.

However, in emergency situations and when a local interpreter can’t be booked, online interpreting is very useful.

The BBC News article (written by the See Hear team) discusses different communication options: text relay, texting, video links and online interpretation.

The article also discusses SignHealth’s service, InterpreterNow!

“Interpreter Now! – a new service due to launch in the spring – has the potential to be a heavyweight competitor if this happens. It’s a merger of two major existing services, SignHealth’s SignTranslate and Sign on Screen, run by Deaf Network UK – a network of several deaf charities including Deaf Connections, Royal Association of the Deaf, Nottinghamshire Deaf Society and Deaf Direct – which means it will have access to large numbers of BSL users in the UK.”

Have you used SignTranslate or InterpreterNow? What do you think of it?