Miss-Delectable
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Minister acclaims unique city phone service for deaf - Liverpool Daily Post.co.uk
THE Minister for Disability has visited a unique Merseyside telephone service for deaf people.
The visit saw Anne McGuire MP test out the RNID Typetalk system, at its call centre in Brunswick Business Park.
The system works by allowing a deaf person to type a message on a text phone, which is then spoken aloud to a listener on the other end of the line by an operator working at the centre.
Ms McGuire received a call from Mandi Cain, a deaf woman who works in the centre, and asked her what she normally did as part of her working day. Cain replied that she sent out questionnaires, almost all of which came back positive about the service.
The minister later praised the service, saying: “Typetalk provides those who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired with a necessary service ensuring access to the telephony services that so many of us take for granted.
“The Government is committed to removing the barriers to independent living for disabled people, enabling them to participate fully in society. Services such as Typetalk make a valuable contribution towards independent living.”
Typetalk opened in 1991 and is the only service of its kind in the UK. It receives around 30,000 calls a week from deaf and speech impaired people, and has an overall customer base of around 450,000.
The RNID also employs 200 people in the area to work at the call centre around the clock, in order to ensure deaf people can make a call at any time.
The minister and the RNID want to promote the service, as around 9m people in the UK have some degree of problem with their hearing and are unaware of the service that TypeTalk can provide.
The RNID also want businesses to take more notice of the difficulties that deaf and hard of hearing people face when using the telephone.
The director of Typetalk, Lorna Stephenson, said: “It’s surprising how many businesses and services have not yet used Typetalk.
“We are encouraging more and more organisations to actively use and promote the Typetalk service, so that their deaf and hard of hearing customers can communicate with them directly.”
Deaf or hard of hearing people interested in using Typetalk should dial 18001 before making a call from a textphone.
THE Minister for Disability has visited a unique Merseyside telephone service for deaf people.
The visit saw Anne McGuire MP test out the RNID Typetalk system, at its call centre in Brunswick Business Park.
The system works by allowing a deaf person to type a message on a text phone, which is then spoken aloud to a listener on the other end of the line by an operator working at the centre.
Ms McGuire received a call from Mandi Cain, a deaf woman who works in the centre, and asked her what she normally did as part of her working day. Cain replied that she sent out questionnaires, almost all of which came back positive about the service.
The minister later praised the service, saying: “Typetalk provides those who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired with a necessary service ensuring access to the telephony services that so many of us take for granted.
“The Government is committed to removing the barriers to independent living for disabled people, enabling them to participate fully in society. Services such as Typetalk make a valuable contribution towards independent living.”
Typetalk opened in 1991 and is the only service of its kind in the UK. It receives around 30,000 calls a week from deaf and speech impaired people, and has an overall customer base of around 450,000.
The RNID also employs 200 people in the area to work at the call centre around the clock, in order to ensure deaf people can make a call at any time.
The minister and the RNID want to promote the service, as around 9m people in the UK have some degree of problem with their hearing and are unaware of the service that TypeTalk can provide.
The RNID also want businesses to take more notice of the difficulties that deaf and hard of hearing people face when using the telephone.
The director of Typetalk, Lorna Stephenson, said: “It’s surprising how many businesses and services have not yet used Typetalk.
“We are encouraging more and more organisations to actively use and promote the Typetalk service, so that their deaf and hard of hearing customers can communicate with them directly.”
Deaf or hard of hearing people interested in using Typetalk should dial 18001 before making a call from a textphone.