The NHS is failing deaf people

Deaf people have long experienced inequitable healthcare, and the linked account by parent Kirsten Abioye (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2615)1 illustrates the enduring problems that have caused a fundamental a breakdown of trust in the NHS. Kirsten describes how lack of appropriately trained staff left her 4 year old son isolated, frightened, and unable to communicate after his cochlear implant surgery.

Twelve million adults and at least 50 000 children are deaf, hard of hearing, or have tinnitus in the UK. Prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, rising to 70% among adults over 70.2 Some 87 000 deaf people use British Sign Language (BSL)3 and parents such as Kirsten Abioye are often discouraged by medical professionals from signing with their deaf child, particularly when the child has a cochlear implant. There is a belief among many health professionals that learning sign language adversely affects speech and language development, one that is not supported by empirical evidence.456

Sign language gives a deaf child the only …