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Deafwise Delivers Deaf Awareness Training To East Kent Hospitals University Nhs Foundation Trust
DeafWise, the national deaf awareness training provider, has helped 50 East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) staff members get to grips with communicating with deaf people, following a specialist training course at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
The two one-day courses saw front-line staff members including nurses, receptionists and healthcare assistants learn how to communicate with deaf patients and ensure that non-hearing patients leave the hospital having had a positive customer experience.
Pat Dawes, Learning and Development manager at EKHUFT, said: “We became aware of an increase of patients and staff with hearing difficulties and whilst we have technical systems in place, such as hearing loops, we don’t have anything that addresses the challenges associated with face to face communication.
“We aim to provide all staff and visitors, whether they are a patient, carer or relative, with an excellent customer focussed experience, irrespective of their abilities. DeafWise’s training has provided the staff with the skills required to handle all situations and has helped the Trust build a more inclusive environment. All our staff are committed to this.”
Trainees experienced the barriers deaf people face on a day to day basis through practical exercises as well as learning how to use sign language in their roles. By the end of the course, they were able to recognise different types of deafness; address, greet and take leave of a deaf sign user; understand the technologies used by deaf people, as well as spell the alphabet in British Sign Language.
Spencer Clark, co-founder of DeafWise, adds: “Nearly nine million people in the UK have some form of deafness, but many hearing people who have never met a deaf person before admit they would not really know how to communicate with them adequately. The East Kent Hospital Trust has taken steps to address this and ensure that everyone receives the same level of service. Deaf awareness training supports equality and has a profound and positive impact on the staff, as well as the patients they serve.”
Pat concludes: “We wanted the training to be as real as possible, and the fact that the training was facilitated by a deaf person helped make the experience really effective. The trainer immediately removed any potential barriers to learning and gave the trainees the freedom to experiment and develop new ways in which to communicate. Inclusivity and equality are at the heart of the Trust’s work and represent areas where there is no room for compromise.”
The Trust is now expected to roll the training out across other sites including the William Harvey hospital in Ashford, the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, the Royal Victoria at Folkestone and the Buckland Hospital at Dover.
For more information on deaf awareness training or to speak with a DeafWise representative, please contact 0845 466 7153. Alternatively, please visit DeafWise - DeafWise.
DeafWise, the national deaf awareness training provider, has helped 50 East Kent Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) staff members get to grips with communicating with deaf people, following a specialist training course at Kent and Canterbury Hospital.
The two one-day courses saw front-line staff members including nurses, receptionists and healthcare assistants learn how to communicate with deaf patients and ensure that non-hearing patients leave the hospital having had a positive customer experience.
Pat Dawes, Learning and Development manager at EKHUFT, said: “We became aware of an increase of patients and staff with hearing difficulties and whilst we have technical systems in place, such as hearing loops, we don’t have anything that addresses the challenges associated with face to face communication.
“We aim to provide all staff and visitors, whether they are a patient, carer or relative, with an excellent customer focussed experience, irrespective of their abilities. DeafWise’s training has provided the staff with the skills required to handle all situations and has helped the Trust build a more inclusive environment. All our staff are committed to this.”
Trainees experienced the barriers deaf people face on a day to day basis through practical exercises as well as learning how to use sign language in their roles. By the end of the course, they were able to recognise different types of deafness; address, greet and take leave of a deaf sign user; understand the technologies used by deaf people, as well as spell the alphabet in British Sign Language.
Spencer Clark, co-founder of DeafWise, adds: “Nearly nine million people in the UK have some form of deafness, but many hearing people who have never met a deaf person before admit they would not really know how to communicate with them adequately. The East Kent Hospital Trust has taken steps to address this and ensure that everyone receives the same level of service. Deaf awareness training supports equality and has a profound and positive impact on the staff, as well as the patients they serve.”
Pat concludes: “We wanted the training to be as real as possible, and the fact that the training was facilitated by a deaf person helped make the experience really effective. The trainer immediately removed any potential barriers to learning and gave the trainees the freedom to experiment and develop new ways in which to communicate. Inclusivity and equality are at the heart of the Trust’s work and represent areas where there is no room for compromise.”
The Trust is now expected to roll the training out across other sites including the William Harvey hospital in Ashford, the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, the Royal Victoria at Folkestone and the Buckland Hospital at Dover.
For more information on deaf awareness training or to speak with a DeafWise representative, please contact 0845 466 7153. Alternatively, please visit DeafWise - DeafWise.