by Rebecca Lennox (@Stnbecca2)
#HelloMyNameIs Becca, I am a 1st year Student Nurse at Liverpool John Moores University.
I am extremely passionate about British sign language (BSL) and aim through education and campaigning, to get British Sign Language included in the nursing programme curriculum nationwide.
Photos from British Deaf Association © 2020
I started my adult nursing degree in September 2017, discovering during my first week that I was pregnant. During a break in my studies to take maternity leave, I met some inspiring parents, who I now call my friends, both with children who are deaf. This is where I learnt first-hand how children who are D/deaf use BSL as an effective communication tool.
I became involved in the Deaf community, realising the challenges and barriers to healthcare for children who are D/deaf and their families. NHS healthcare professionals have a lack of knowledge and awareness in relation to D/deaf people, failing to effectively communicate, a surprising concept considering it is a fundamental aspect to nursing practice. As such, children who are D/deaf rely on friends and family in order to communicate their needs when in the hospital environment. Additionally, I have witnessed first-hand how a family have had to relocate and find new employment, just so that their child can access secondary education, that has adequate support to meet the requirements of their child’s specific
needs.
When a person lip reads, they only get around 30% of the conversation, with the rest being guess work.
Due to being hard of hearing myself, I rely on lip reading most of the time. When a person lip reads, they only get around 30% of the conversation, with the rest being guess work. In a recent visit to A&E, I asked the nurse to pull down her mask or alternatively wear a visor to allow me to lip read. She was extremely rude, clearly offended by my request, proceeding to show her anger as she shouted about my personal medical issue in ear shot of other patients. As I walked out of the room everyone looked at me and I felt so ashamed and upset. This demonstrated to me the lack of understanding and empathy towards the needs of patients who are hard of hearing, again cementing the need for appropriate education around the subject.
Top Tips For Nurses Caring for someone D/ deaf or hard of hearing
1. Ensure that you have the persons attention, waving or tapping on the shoulder is acceptable.
2. Do not slow your speech or exaggerate your lip patterns.
3. Make sure you do not look away while speaking.
4. Write things down if necessary but be mindful that D/deaf individuals who use BSL as their first language, may not understand written English.
5. Be patient.
British Sign Language on Nursing Curriculum
British sign language is a recognised language, one which is used to communicate by many within the D/deaf community. In recent months there has been a lot of information and awareness of how Makaton has allowed those with hearing and learning difficulties to communicate. However, whilst this is a positive step in the right direction, Makaton is in fact a simplified version of British sign language. Subsequently this poses additional challenges to the D/deaf community, because if a D/deaf person were to attend an appointment and you as a healthcare professional only know Makaton, you wouldn’t be able to have a conversation with this person because the structure of BSL is different to spoken English.
I hope to empower nurses to become inclusive practitioners, so that D/deaf people can access healthcare services as equally as the rest of the population
BSL is fundamental to promoting effective communication with people, and I strongly advocate for it to be included on future nursing programmes in universities across the UK. This will allow for nurses to be educated about D/deaf awareness and D/deaf culture, enabling them to meet proficiencies and standards in relation to effective communication when out in practice.
Moving forward, I hope to empower nurses to become inclusive practitioners, so that D/deaf people can access healthcare services as equally as the rest of the population. I aim to continue to encourage the use of British Sign Language in healthcare services, whilst teaching the nursing community basic skills that will allow for a more person-centred approach to care of an individual who is D/deaf or hard of hearing.
Becca is a student nurse at Liverpool John Moores University and has been shortlisted for Student Nurse of the Year in the RCNi Awards 2020.