"Deaf awareness and wellbeing"

We are members of Deaf users’ group and usually meet at Stonebridge Centre twice a month facilitated by AMH Deaf Services. We met recently and talked about the recent Deaf Awareness week events in early May and issues with sign language interpreting. We are pleased that interpreters are a lot more available for us (sign language users) in care settings. They are present when we see our doctors, dentists or opticians as long as they are requested early enough (at least 2 weeks).

Some of us don’t know how to check the qualifications of interpreters. The registered interpreters wear a yellow badge and the trainees have blue ones. High quality interpreting is essential for us and the professionals we meet. We would like to choose the gender of our interpreters especially when the appointments are personal. Privacy and confidentiality are important. We would like the interpreters to arrive before our appointments to help us to prepare. Preferably they should be locally based so the signs could be more familiar. We understand that freelance outside interpreters are sometimes used because there is a shortage of local ones. We have felt disappointed that interpreters have not turned up on few occasions.

From the group, we have become more aware of our rights and the benefits of giving feedback to the NHS and interpreting services. We hope our stories can continue to improve the services for deaf people and our wellbeing.