A referral was made to POhWER from a local charity that supports disabled people. This referral was for Glenda a young lady who is deaf and also has a number of long-term physical health conditions. The referral was allocated to Olivia, a POhWER advocate.

Olivia reviewed the referral and noted that Glenda wanted support to make a formal NHS complaint relating to her current admission to the hospital. She also noted that Glenda is deaf and requires BSL support, and that BSL is her first language.

Olivia arranged to visit Glenda in hospital and arranged for a BSL interpreter to be present. Olivia and the interpreter met with Glenda and introduced themselves. Olivia explained her role as an advocate and the rules around confidentiality.

Glenda explained that during her stay in the hospital, the nurse and team did not book a BSL interpreter as part of her communication needs. Her basic needs were ignored, and she was unable to communicate with anyone. The trust held the view that a BSL interpreter was not needed as she had been given a pen and paper.

Glenda struggles with reading and writing as she has been deaf since birth and BSL is her first language. BSL has its own vocabulary and syntax and is structured differently from spoken/written English. It can be difficult for people who have been deaf since birth to learn to read as they cannot hear others speak the words and cannot access phonetics or linguistic patterns.

The nurse also failed to speak to Glenda’s support worker as she was reportedly too busy. When Glenda’s support worker came to visit her at the hospital, nursing staff expected the support worker to interpret for the client.  However, this was not the support worker’s responsibility as she was not a qualified interpreter – her role is as a Communicator Guide for Glenda.

Olivia explained that failing to make reasonable adjustments such as providing access to a BSL interpreter was in violation of the Equality Act 2010. Olivia explained the options available for Glenda to raise her complaint under the NHS Complaints Process.

Glenda said that she would like to raise her complaint in a formal letter to the trust but needed support as she could not write it herself. Olivia agreed to support Glenda to compose a letter and raise a formal complaint and support her through the formal NHS procedure.