A Belfast mum has said she is "absolutely horrified" by lack of the support for deaf people in hospital emergency departments after a "distressing encounter" during a visit to A&E.
The woman, who does not wish to be named, is the mother of a deaf child herself and believes more needs to be done to support the deaf community when they visit a hospital for urgent medical attention.
She was speaking following her experience while attending the Royal Victoria Hospital's Emergency Department last week.
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The concerned mum told Belfast Live : "On Thursday evening I attended the Royal Victoria Hospital's A&E Department with a family member. As I waited, I noticed a deaf man attempting to communicate with one of the receptionists.
"As a mother of a deaf child myself, who is able to sign slightly, I approached him and asked if he needed help. He was in the middle of trying to enlist the help of an online interpreter to allow him to give the receptionist his information and tell them what he needed help with.
"As he sat and waited for triage, it became increasingly obvious how difficult it would be for him to know that it was his time to be assessed. There were no visual screens and nurses, who were wearing masks, called names out. He came up to ask if I could let him know when his name was called."
She added: "Over the space of the 11 hours that we were there, only one nurse came directly up to him. Four out of the five times that he was called, I had to let him know.
"I was absolutely horrified at the lack of support for a deaf person. There is no fault being blamed on the medical staff, but solely on the Trust for not providing a means by which this man would know that it was his turn to be seen.
"A simple TV screen naming the next patient would have worked, and access to an interpreter, rather than the man having to pay to access an interpreter.
"Had I not been there, this man would not have known when it was his turn to be seen. He had attended hospital due to chest pains, and was worried he was having heart problems.
"Anyone in A&E should have full access to services. This man could have been overlooked and not assessed, only for the fact that I knew some sign language and knew he would not have heard his name being called."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Belfast Trust said: "The Trust provides a sign language interpreter in accordance with our legislative responsibilities to provide equality of access to information and communication for anyone who uses sign language support.
"RNID supplies interpreters to Belfast Trust on request."
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