"Rampton Hospital Grampian Ward Deaf Services -I am a patient on this ward"

I disagree with the latest report about Deaf Services.  I didn't like staff that we knew well and that can sign being moved to other wards, and then we have staff that can't sign.  Recently we have had alot of staff that can sign well, level 1 and level 2 BSL, and we now have Deaf staff that work here and provide us with good communication.  We have Interpreters at weekends, and in the evenings.  They are always booked for medical appointments, purple visits, face to face visits, and any important meetings/sessions.  We can access them in the evenings to make phone calls too.  The Deaf staff make the ward a much more Deaf friendly place too. The staff that work here on the ward have good attitudes towards us as Deaf patients and although most can sign, those that are new on the ward must go and learn sign language and we help them improve their skills too.

We have heard that soon in the hospital the staff will have body worn cameras which will be really good, and we are happy about this as sign language is visual and so you will have evidence in areas such as patient's bedrooms, that if a patient is angry or upset in their room, the staff can go in and use sign language to calm them down and this will be recorded.  Also if a patient assaults a member of staff, there will be proof of this.

When the CQC came to assess Grampian Ward it was only for a short time.  they didn't get a true picture of the ward environment, and at that time the hospital was short staffed, so a lot of our staff were moved to different wards.  To get a real picture, they should stay here for a month at least.  The staff always involve us in games like Rummikub, and pool, we do jigsaws, make christmas decorations, have film nights and all the time we are chatting with the staff in sign language.  When the staff help us with our property, they use sign language, and even if the interpreters aren't here that is ok as we are able to communicate effectively with the staff at this level.

On our ward, if a patient is angry, the staff usually use sign language to communicate with them to see how they are feeling.  If a patient is really angry and the staff think they may assault someone, they may take them to seclusion, and then talk to them through the big window to help them calm down.  They use interpreters and staff that are good at signing.  The patient may only be in there for a short time, when the staff feel they have calmed down enough by talking to them in sign language.

I have many more examples which I would like to explain to you, but I would like someone to come and see me face to face so I can tell you how good the Deaf Service is here on Grampian Ward.  Please give me plenty of time to explain to you.

A BSL Interpreter has helped me to type this is English