And everyone with a hearing impairment should have access to an interpreter Deafconnect, as part of its 150th birthday celebrations, has this month launched ‘Together We Can’ – a campaign striving to improve provision and change lives for deaf and hard of hearing people.
October 2024: Everyone should learn basic sign language and everyone with a hearing impairment should have access to an interpreter – a new campaign lobbying for change has been launched by Northamptonshire charity Deafconnect.
Deafconnect, as part of its 150th birthday celebrations, has this month launched ‘Together We Can’ – a campaign striving to improve provision and change lives for deaf and hard of hearing people.
The charity’s new patron, world famous deaf sign song performer Jayne Fletch (aka Fletch), officially unveiled the campaign at the charity’s Northampton headquarters, joined by deaf and hard of hearing service users, local businesses, schoolchildren, fellow charities, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant and Northampton Mayor.
Fletch, who works by translating the lyrics of songs and performing them in sign language and has performed alongside the likes of Ronan Keating and Ed Sheeran, shared her personal story of loss at the campaign launch.
“Last year my mum got rushed to hospital, ”Fletch told guests. “She fell into a coma, was having brain seizures, was then on life support and a kidney machine. She was in hospital for two and half weeks and then passed away. I had limited to no access to interpreters, could not communicate with doctors or my family and the experience was horrific. I don’t want anyone else to go through this which is why we at Deafconnect are launching ‘Together We Can’.
“Put simply, we are confident that if we all come together, we can draw attention to the injustice, improve provision, change lives and together celebrate deaf culture.”
Deafconnect CEO Jenni Dawkins believes people who use signing as their main communication method should not have to struggle to find places where they can be understood. The first part of the charity’s campaign is focused on lobbying for change in medical environments.
Jenni explained: “Here at Deafconnect we are getting an increasing number of calls from deaf and hard of hearing people desperate for support with their medical appointments. A staggering one in three people have a hearing impairment so will need a BSL interpreter or lip reader with them at medical appointments.
“Too often this does not happen. If we can change this there will undoubtedly be a better outcome for all – less frustration and missed appointments and improved efficiency and patient satisfaction.
“Our campaign is built on a simple premise: only by coming together – the hearing, hard of hearing and deaf communities – can we create change and improve the health and wellbeing of our deaf community.”
The statistics are staggering.
Claire Gogerty, Chair of Deafconnect, added: “Like any charities we are continually looking at new funding sources, and how best we can use funds to make a difference to our service users. We believe itis a fundamental right that the deaf and hard of hearing have access to services that every hearing person takes for granted. It saddens me to know that this doesn’t always happen, and it is our sincere hope that ‘Together We Can’ will encourage and bring about change.”